Long Island has long been a place where developers dreamed big but didn’t always build that way.Residents often protested in a region with many layers of government, leaving Long Island littered with projects that never made it past blueprints.
Yet today, the region is home to a wide range of substantial construction projects, from residential to healthcare, often near transit hubs, as the region undergoes a kind of re-visioning and renaissance that is changing the look and feel of the landscape.
From RXR’s development at Garvies Point to the UBS Arena, Grand Central Madison, to hotels springing up near Roosevelt Field, Long Island, and specifically Nassau, is in flux as brick-and-mortar continues to alter the region. The New York Sands, meanwhile, is hoping to bring a resort and casino to Uniondale.
Northwell Health, along with NYU-Langone and Mt. Sina are in the midst of a healthcare construction boom. And an upswing in downtowns and residential development is revitalizing a region where downtowns were once nearly defeated as malls replaced the main streets.
“The story on construction in downtowns on Long Island is not simply about the important, large-scale projects,” said Vision Long Island Executive Director Eric Alexander, “but about small and medium scale redevelopment that is tailored to fit alongside and planned with local communities.”
Alexander said across Long Island, roughly 10,000 units of multifamily housing are being planned in nearly 50 communities, including 21 in Nassau and 27 in Suffolk. Slightly over 60% of the volume is in Suffolk County, with just under 40% of planned units in Nassau.
“Another barometer is the participation of Long Island municipalities in the New York State Pro-Housing program,” Alexander said of a state program funding downtown revitalization.
To date 26 villages and towns representing about half of Long Island’s population have petitioned to be in the program and have plans for housing growth.
Residential revolution
But a residential revolution is being joined by a retail, healthcare and construction revolution. Transit-oriented development is the latest watchword in Nassau County, including construction near railroad stations.
“The Hicksville Downtown Revitalization and Rezoning” plan, for instance, outlined how the MTA and Hicksville would develop that transit hub. Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino’s administration initially set aside $1.1 million in federal money to get the ball rolling, followed by a $10 million New York State award for downtown revitalization.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority invested $132 million to revamp the Hicksville railroad station. That pan said the goal is to “continue to transform Hicksville into a vibrant downtown for downsizers, empty nesters, senior citizens and what millennials asked for and what will keep them here on Long Island.”
Many other transit-oriented projects have also taken place, with railroad stations serving as hubs like rivers and ports once were.
A $50 million, 54-apartment mixed-use project, designed by Mojo Stumer Architects, for instance, went up in Roslyn in 2022. Developed by JK Equities, it was built with the help of a $35.8 million construction loan provided by Provident Bank.
The project includes 6,600 square feet of retail space all located virtually a stone’s throw from the Roslyn Long Island Rail Road station.
Zones of comfort
Long Island zoning has kept much of the region largely as is for decades, but downtowns, and other regions, are remaking zoning for everything from affordable housing to apartment buildings and condominiums.
Farmingdale, Patchogue, and some other communities are adding more multi-tenant buildings to their housing mix.
The new Long Island includes apartment buildings and condos, often near transit hubs.
A recent Long Island Builders Institute housing study found that 91 percent of Long Island housing units are permanently occupied while 9 percent are vacant. Meanwhile, 83 percent are single-family, while 6 percent are 2-4 units.
“We don’t have a diversity of housing stock,” Long Island Builders Institute CEO Mike Florio said. “You don’t have that lifestyle where someone in their 20s can rent a place, get married, have kids, then go to a single-family home.”
Transit hubs are increasingly becoming anchors for apartments and condominiums as construction goes far beyond the houses that are hallmarks of Long Island.
“Despite the challenges, many downtowns have become destinations in recent years, “Alexander said, “due to the increase in day-trippers from New York City and Long Islanders doing staycations.”
Healthcare hubs
An aging population also is fueling a healthcare construction boom, as Long Islanders no longer have to travel to New York City for healthcare amid major local construction.
“Major Northwell projects that will open in 2025 across Long Island span hospital and outpatient sites, with various locations to best serve the community,” according to a Northwell spokesperson.
Northwell is planning to open a pediatric heart transplant program at Cohen Children’s Medical Center, and the LIJ Valley Stream Emergency Department is being expanded and renovated.
Meanwhile, NYU Langone Health last year opened its largest ambulatory care center on Long Island, converting Garden City’s former Bloomingdale’s and Sears building into the NYU Langone Ambulatory Care Garden City, a 260,000-square-foot facility housing 32 clinical specialties.
The building includes 260 patient exam rooms and a new, expanded adult ophthalmology service.
“This beautiful new location allows patients to see multiple doctors in a single visit,” said Dr. Andrew W. Brotman, executive vice president and vice dean for clinical affairs and strategy, chief clinical officer, at NYU Langone.
That facility is less than a mile from NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island, a 591-bed medical center in Mineola where more than 5,000 babies are born annually.
Hotel space heats up
While hospitals are expanding, significant investment has also been made in the hospitality space. J Group Corp. last year acquired the Holiday Inn Plainview Long Island, an iconic landmark hotel located on the Long Island Expressway Service Road, for $21 million.
J Group has since renovated rooms and the ballroom and is renovating the restaurant. “This hotel has the most convenient location on Long Island,” said J Group Corp President Shudh Parkash Singh.
The 127-room hotel is near companies such as Canon, Geico, Capital One, Bank of America, Mattress Firm, Leviton, and Grumman Studios.
The 163-room Residence Inn by Marriott Long Island Garden City, meanwhile, opened in 2020 near Roosevelt Field as the first hotel to open in Garden City since 1983. A $75.6 million, 170-room hotel then opened in Garden City, near the Roosevelt Field mall.
Downtown and retail revolution
Existing retail malls in multiple communities are remaking themselves and upgrading their centers. The Broadway Mall in Hicksville is transforming into “Shops on Broadway.”
Samanea New York, formerly the Mall at the Source, owned by Lesso Mall Development (Long Island), has been developed as a lifestyle mall in Westbury, spanning 750,000 square feet on 38 acres.
Samanea has a wide range of Asian-American tenants, including the 99 Ranch Market, an Asian supermarket that opened its first store in New York State there in April of 2022.
Serving a region with a growing Asian-American population, it also includes the Korean Hot Pot & BBQ, Nan Xiang Xiao Long Bao, Ichiddo Ramen, and MoCA Asian Bistro.
“We’re creating a lifestyle destination, a unique place in Nassau County where people could dine, shop and play,” Dominic Coluccio, Samanea New York’s director of real estate, said. “It’s a place for everyone, regardless of their age, to visit and create wonderful memories.”
The retail revolution continues across Long Island amid a soft office market with more people working remotely.
“The office market is still weak and ripe for residential conversion,” Alexander said. “The industrial market is holding strong.”
Headquarters here
While some companies leave Long Island, others have moved here from New York City’s boroughs.
Total Fire Protection, which had been based in Brooklyn, moved to Nassau County, where they already had a satellite office in Bellmore. The company, founded in 1999, opened a 31,250-square-foot facility in Woodbury.
Joseph Capone, owner and president, said this created “a centralized hub of excellence for training and streamlining logistics – further strengthening our teams and the value we deliver to our clients.”
“As we look to the future, our new headquarters in Woodbury is more than just a building. It’s a beacon of our ambition,” Capone said.
Superblock success
Large residential projects also have occurred, often on long-vacant plots. A 6.5-acre parcel known as the Superblock, long-vacant in Long Beach, was developed in a $300 million project with 1,000 parking spaces.
Engel Burman, also known as B2K, bought the property in August 2021.
The Nassau Industrial Development Agency approved $49 million in tax breaks over 25 years through a PILOT, or payment in lieu of taxes, arrangement.
New York State and federal housing subsidies, meanwhile, are reaching Long Island, which isn’t getting its fair share from either, Alexander said. Industrial development agencies are requiring a higher percentage of affordable housing units in market-rate developments in order to qualify for payments in lieu of taxes.
“The governor has proposals for additional subsidies for homeownership units and infrastructure for municipalities that advance affordable housing plans,” Alexander said.
