By GREGORY ZELLER //
A busy national developer with a history in West Hempstead will replace a long-empty supermarket with a 150-unit apartment building, with the help of IDA incentives.
The Town of Hempstead Industrial Development Agency has granted preliminary approval to an economic-development package that will help MCRT Investments – an offshoot of Florida-based developer Mill Creek Residential Trust – get cracking on its big plans.
Already in contract to purchase the 2.34-acre Woodfield Road site, Mill Creek is planning a 176,912-square-foot apartment building – including 90 one-bedroom units, 49 two-bedroom units and 11 three-bedroom units, all just a two-minute walk from the Long Island Rail Road’s West Hempstead station – along with 200 on-site resident parking spaces.
The new construction would replace a derelict supermarket that previously operated as part of the warehouse-style Western Beef chain.
Fred Parola: Overwhelming response.
Ten percent of the 150 rental units would be reserved for much-needed affordable housing, according to the IDA, which noted several additional socioeconomic benefits influencing its Jan. 31 decision to greenlight a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes deal – primarily, annual property taxes that slowly increase from $188,866 to $1.4 million over the 25-year PILOT program.
The tax breaks must still undergo further agency review, a public hearing and a final vote. But Mill Creek has already proven to be a trustworthy partner – with the Hempstead IDA’s help, the Florida builder previously developed and sold West 130, a $40.5 million, 150-unit West Hempstead apartment complex.
And its proposed $71.5 million Woodfield Road plan, which is also projected to create 244 construction-phase jobs, is exactly the kind of investment the region needs, according to Town of Hempstead Industrial Development Agency CEO Fred Parola.
“This project, if approved, will help to fulfill the overwhelming demand for rental housing in the town and keep young professionals, Millennials and empty-nesters here in our community,” Parola added.
