REDEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN NEW CASSEL
Efforts to commercially revitalize Prospect and Union
Avenues began in January 2003 with the designation of a small minority-owned
development firm to develop a mixed use pilot project on the corner of Prospect Avenue and Grand Street.
In October 2003, the Town of
North Hempstead Community Development Agency, in cooperation with
the Town of North Hempstead and Nassau County, issued a request for proposals for the redevelopment of seven sites along
Prospect and Union Avenues in accordance with the New
Cassel Vision Plan. Developers were conditionally designated to
redevelop four of these sites in March 2004, and the remaining three sites in
May 2004.
It is anticipated that the redevelopment of all eight sites
will produce a quarter of million square feet of residential and commercial
space, consisting of over 210 apartments, more than 50,000 square feet of
retail space, and a 2,980 square foot Gateway Park. Nearly $60 million will
be invested in New Cassel by a variety of public and private sources to
complete the proposed projects.
The developers designated to redevelop the sites are:
The Bluestone Organization - Site A
Stoneridge Homes, Inc. Sites B,
C, and D
Sheldrake Organization/Unified New Cassel Community
Revitalization Corp. Site E
Douglaston Development Partner / The Ana and Philip Kimmel
Foundation – Site F
Wheatley Hills Nursery, Inc. – Site G
A & C Development Partners – Site
H (Pilot Site)
STONERIDGE HOMES
Following a groundbreaking ceremony featuring U.S. Senator
Hillary Rodham Clinton, Town of North Hempstead Supervisor Jon Kaiman, Nassau
County Executive Tom Suozzi, and Town Councilmember Robert Troiano, work began on
the redevelopment of Site D in March
2005. It is expected that work will be completed in March 2006.
The site, consisting of 13,608 and located at 839 Prospect
Avenue at its northeast intersection with Grand Street, is being improved by
Stoneridge Homes, Inc. Headquartered in Rosedale, New York, Stoneridge
specializes in the development , construction and restoration of single and
multiple family dwellings, medical facilities, senior housing, and commercial
properties. Stoneridge plans to redevelop the site with 6 mixed use, row type
buildings. Each building will consist of one 812 square feet of retail space
on the ground level, a storage cellar, and a two-bedroom apartment on the
second and third floor, with each residential unit renting for approximately
$1,255 per month. An internet café run by a local entrepreneur will occupy a
portion of the retail space.
Stoneridge Homes continues to seek financing to redevelop
Site B, a 27,423 square foot site located at on the north side of Prospect Avenue between Siegel Street and Sheridan Street, and Site C, a 19,776 square foot
property found on the south side of Prospect Avenue between Siegel Street and Grand Street.
Development on Site B,
located at 735 to 765 Prospect Avenue, is expected to consist of a mixed use
property comprised of 24 apartments, including 2 studio apartments renting at
approximately $975 per month, 14 one bedroom apartments renting at $1,046 per
month, and 8 two-bedroom apartments renting at approximately $1,255 per month.
Approximately 11,517 square feet of retail space shall also be developed on
site, including 8,434 square feet that will be owned and occupied as a
commercial condominium unit by Stop One Supermarket, a retailer currently
operating at 804 Prospect Avenue. Approximately 3,183 square feet of retail space
will be owned and operated as a fast-food restaurant.
Site C, found at 816-822 Prospect Avenue, will include 22 two-bedroom units renting at approximately $1,255
per month. An additional 4,000 square feet of commercial space, including an
approximately 2,400 square foot branch bank, and 1,500 square feet of office
space, will also be developed at the site.
THE BLUESTONE ORGANIZATION
The Bluestone Organization,
a Queens- based developer with experience in developing rental housing and
homeownership opportunities in such New York City communities as Springfield
Gardens, Fort Greene, Jamaica, Marble Hill, Bushwick, and Harlem, was
conditionally selected to redevelop Site A, located at the corner of Prospect
Avenue and Brush Hollow Road.
The 46,151 square foot site, known as the “Gateway to New
Cassel”, is expected to be improved with a 4,500 square foot park overlooked by
a mixed use building. Residential space in the building is expected to consist
of 57 apartments, including 18 one-bedroom apartments renting for approximately
$942 per month, 2 one-bed-room apartments renting for approximately $800 per
month, 33 two-bedroom apartments renting for $1,130 per month, and 4
three-bedroom apartments renting for $1,306 per month. There will also be approximately
21,000 square feet of retail space and an underground parking garage.
Work is expected to begin on Site A in April 2006.
THE SHELDRAKE ORGANIZATION / UNIFIED NEW CASSEL COMMUNITY
REVITALIZATION CORPORATION (UNCCRC)
Site E is a 52,200
square foot site located along Prospect Avenue between Bond Street and State
Street, will be redeveloped with what is expected to be a four-story, 78,000
square foot, 78-unit building. The project’s builder, the Sheldrake Organization, is a Hempstead-based developer
that owns and operates more than 2,500 units of housing in seven counties
throughout New York State. Its partner, Unified New Cassel Community
Revitalization Corporation (“UNCCRC”), was incorporated as a non-profit
organization in more than two years ago to pursue and promote the
revitalization of New Cassel.
After a start-up period, Sheldrake will turn management and
operation of the 78-unit development over to UNCCRC.
DOUGLASTON DEVELOPERS / THE ANA AND PHILIP KIMMEL
FOUNDATION
Building on the Kimmel Foundation’s success in developing a
33-unit senior housing development, Apex I, at 498 Union Avenue, the Kimmel
Foundation and Douglaston Developers will partner in redeveloping the adjacent
site, Site F.
The 25,540 square foot assemblage on the southwest corner of
Union Avenue and Hicks Street will be improved with an approximately 34,000
square foot intergenerational mixed use development that is expected to consist
of 2 “live-work” spaces renting for an average of $725 per month, 6 senior efficiency
units renting for an average of $427 per month, 14 one-bedroom apartments renting
for an average of $773 per month, 5 one-bedroom apartments renting for
approximately $933 per month, and 8 two-bedroom units renting for an average of
$1,121 per month.
Douglaston Development, LLC is an affiliate of Levine
Builders, which has completed over 70 developments of residential and
commercial space, and has a residential portfolio of over 2000 units. The
Kimmel Foundation is a non-profit whose mission is to develop and manage
housing for the elderly, the handicapped, and other special needs populations.
WHEATLEY HILLS NURSERY, INC.
Wheatley Hills Nursery, Inc., the owner and operator of
a flower and garden shop at properties immediately east and west of Site G, has been conditionally designated to
develop the 10,080 square foot site. The additional space, known as 542 Union Avenue, and its consolidation with the adjacent sites, will allow the Nursery to
expand its business, which began at 530 Union Avenue three years ago.
A & C DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS
In January 2004, members of the Agency designated of A & C Development Partners as the developers of a pilot
project at a site located on the northwest corner of Prospect Avenue and Grand Street.
The development is expected to be a mixed use
condominium. It would include 3,589 square feet of retail space that is
expected to be partially occupied by a pharmacy. It would also include seven
duplex condominium homeownership units spread over two floors, with three-bedroom
owner-occupied units on the second floor and two-bedroom rental units on the
third floor.
Each residential condominium unit is expected to have a
purchase price of $375,000, affordable to a family with an annual income of $62,000.
The rental apartment within each unit would rent for approximately $1,250 per
month, making it affordable for a family with an annual income of $52,000.
The A & C Development Partners principals are Ms. Sandra Acosta and
Mr. Alfredo Assad.
