Avalon Huntington Station

Avalon Huntington Station News

Plan Makes Sense for Huntington
Newsday | May 12, 2011
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LIBI Supports Avalon Huntington Station
May 18, 2011
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Cold Springs Harbor Laboratory Supports Avalonbay's Huntington Station
May 13, 2011
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La Strada Supports Avalonbay's Huntington Station
May 6, 2011
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Action Long Island Supports Avalonbay's Huntington Station
May 5, 2011
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Avalonbay's Huntington Station Plan Was Exactly What We Needed
libn.com | April 15-21, 2011 | Long Island Business News
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Greenest homes are those near public transit
USA Today- Wendy Koch

Location, location, location -- it's a well-worn mantra in real estate. New research shows yet another reason why it's important: it decides how green a home really is. Housing near public transportation uses less energy than homes in the suburbs, even Energy Star-rated ones.

That's the finding of a study released this week by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which supported the data analysis. The EPA says location is vital because buildings and transportation together account for about 70% of U.S. energy use and 62% of its greenhouse gas emissions.

"People can do many things to reduce their energy use: install energy-efficient light bulbs, carpool or walk or buy Energy Star appliances, among other things. But the way in which we plan and build our communities also has a significant role to play in creating a more environmentally and economically sustainable future," EPA said in announcing the results.

The study compares the total energy use of various kinds of housing in conventional suburbs vs. "transit oriented" developments, including the energy used for heating and cooling the home as well as for transporting its residents. It found homes in walkable neighborhoods near public transit were "location efficient" because residents didn't need to drive as much.

The results are dramatic but hardly surprising.

For example, single-family homes in a conventional U.S. suburb use an average of 108 million BTUs (British Thermal Units--a measure of energy consumption) per year for heating, cooling, lighting and appliances. Its residents also use 132 million BTUs per year for transportation. This totals 240 million BTUs.

But if the same home were located in a "transit-oriented development," its residents would use only 39 million BTUs per year for transportation so the home's total energy consumption would fall to 147 million BTUs.

This would be even less than the total 158 total BTUs that an Energy Star-rated house (at least 20% more efficient than regular new homes) in the suburbs would consume each year.

Homes near transit use less energy overall than those in conventional suburbs, according to a new study released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.CAPTIONBy Jonathan Rose Companies with support from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency "It's little surprise, then -- especially with gasoline prices trending upward -- that real estate values in transit-oriented areas have been holding their own or rising, while real estate values in automobile-dependent suburbia have been falling," writes Alex Wilson, executive editor of Environmental Building News.

Wilson notes that in the 2010 book, Foreclosing the Dream: How America's Housing Crisis is Changing Our Cities and Suburbs, University of Virginia architecture professor William Lucy shows that foreclosures in 2008 and 2009 occurred more often in car-dependent outer suburbs than in cities and closer-in suburbs.

The EPA-supported study was conducted by Jonathan Rose Companies, which has long touted "smart growth." It comes as the Obama administration is trying to promote walkable neighborhoods. In June 2009, the EPA created an inter-agency, Partnership for Sustainable Communities with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Department of Transportation.

AvalonBay revises Huntington Sta. proposal  [Top]
Newsday- Deborah S. Morris
8 March 2011

AvalonBay Communities on Tuesday submitted a scaled-back proposal to build 379 units of multifamily housing in Huntington Station.

The plan, submitted to the Town of Huntington, complies with existing multifamily zoning codes, officials said.

The issue dominated public meetings and divided the community in the weeks leading up to a board vote in September, when an AvalonBay plan calling for 490 units was rejected.

Avalon officials said the density has been decreased to comply with the existing zoning code, which allows for 14.5 units per acre. Company officials said the revised Huntington Station density is identical to that at its other properties in Huntington: Avalon Court and Court North in Melville.

"We're excited that we have gotten to this point," AvalonBay Communities vice president Matthew Whalen said. "I heard a lot of people say if we were proposing to build another beautiful community like we did in Melville at that scale and density they would be fully supportive and that's what this proposal constitutes."

The new proposal calls for 303 units to be rental homes, with the remaining 76 to be sold. The mix of apartment homes would consist of 94 one-bedroom units, 181 two-bedroom units and 104 three-bedroom homes. The targeted 26.6-acre site is a half-mile from the Huntington Station Long Island Rail Road station.

Board member Mark Mayoka said he wants a moratorium on high-density housing in Huntington Station because he has "deep concerns" about the impact on the area's infrastructure.

"I think we need to focus our efforts on code enforcement, safety and bringing in business for economic development," Mayoka said. Board member Glenda Jackson, who has always supported an AvalonBay development, said she is pleased the company came back with a proposal that complies with current town code but is disappointed that some of the affordable housing units have been lost as a consequence.

Town Supervisor Frank Petrone and town board member Mark Cuthbertson said they were glad a new proposal has been submitted that complies with current zoning codes.

On Feb. 23, Whalen announced he planned a feasibility study of a less-dense project after Petrone, Cuthbertson and Jackson asked him to try again.

AvalonBay Resubmits Proposal For Long Island, NY, Apartments   [Top]
WSJ.com- Dawn Wotapka
8 March 2011

Developer AvalonBay Communities Inc. (AVB) has resubmitted a controversial proposal to build hundreds of apartments in Huntington, N.Y.

AvalonBay, one of the nation's largest apartment owners, proposes 379 units, a mix of 303 rentals and 76 for-sale units, located near a train station in the Long Island community, according to the company's website.

In September, Huntington's town board rejected the previous proposal for a 490-unit high-density development. The project stirred controversy because Long Island residents, accustomed to suburbs and highways, are largely unfamiliar with transit-oriented development.

The company said it resubmitted the proposal Tuesday.

Long Island is one of the nation's toughest development markets, and AvalonBay is the only public player currently willing to spend multiple years delicately negotiating with numerous powerful local governments and outspoken civic groups to build its upscale apartments.

Since the late 1990s, the Arlington, Va., company has built some 2,000 Long Island residences. It is poised to significantly increase its local presence with three projects, cementing the metropolitan New York-New Jersey market as the largest of its six U.S. segments.

But Long Island development isn't easy: Every project requires a multi-year battle to change an ingrained antidevelopment mentality that doesn't always welcome new apartments. Each site plan must be specifically tailored to match what are usually conflicting demands.

To any apartment developer, Long Island brims with opportunity. The housing stock is largely single-family homes, with apartments making a small percentage.

Also, many of the existing apartments are dated brick structures lacking AvalonBay's signature amenities, such as a community pool and clubhouse. Additionally, rents are high: AvalonBay can charge everyone from college graduates to seniors looking to downsize thousands of dollars a month.

"The new Avalon Huntington Station will still provide a solution for the area's pressing housing needs: for working families, young professionals, and empty nesters," the company promises on its website.

AvalonBay Offers New Plan  [Top]
Huntington Patch- Pam Robinson
8 March 2011

AvalonBay announced Tuesday evening that it had submitted a new, scaled-down proposal for development in Huntington Station.

The company said that the new plan meets requirements under the town R-3M zoning code and would mean building 379 apartments in a mix of rentals and for-sale units. It said the project would provide a significant amount of workforce housing (54 apartments), and 80% of the units would be rentals. "The new project's considerably reduced density is identical to those of Avalon Court and Court North in Melville," the company said.

An earlier and much larger plan that included a transit-oriented district met considerable opposition from some in the Huntington Station community and was rejected by the Town Board in September. The company said the new plan is "responsive to many of the community's legitimate concerns about the previous TOD development."

It would, the company said produce "several significant returns for Huntington, including the creation of needed housing, economic revitalization, and job creation. Its estimated net impact on the school district costs will be at worst neutral and at best moderately beneficial. And a revived community will certainly help to stabilize the neighborhood, add tax ratables and reduce crime."

No one from the town was immediately available for comment.

On the earlier plan,Huntington Board of Education school board president Bill Dwyer said the board had initially agreed to accept a $1.5 million "mitigation fee," because Avalon's plan would have brought in fewer children than another plan for single-family homes on the same site.

The school board hadn't taken a position, for or against, the Avalon plan itself. But the Transit-Oriented District that some feared would alter zoning beyond the Avalon development led the school board to oppose a plan that might have a negative impact on the school district by significantly adding to the school population. A few days later, the Town Board voted the plan down.

AvalonBay had tried for more than a year to win approval for its construction on the north side of East Fifth Street near the LIRR station. Its original proposal called for a 530-unit, 978-bedroom development, later scaled back to 944 bedrooms in a 490-unit plan. Its proposal would have offered a mix of residential housing, including some rentals, with a 25 percent component of workforce, affordable housing, in one-, two- and three-bedroom homes. The land is owned by the Bonavita family, which planned to build 109 single-family homes on the acreage.

Avalon Bay submits downsized plans  [Top]
Long Island Business News- David Winzelberg
8 March 2011

At the urging of the Huntington Town Board, Avalon Bay Communities submitted a new proposal Tuesday to build a multifamily housing development on 26 acres in Huntington Station.

The new plan calls for 379 units of one, two and three-bedroom rentals and homes for sale, which the company says conforms to the town's R-3M zoning. That same zoning is in already in place at the Avalon Court apartment complex in Melville.

A previous plan for 490 units was voted down by the town board last fall, mostly due to opposition from local residents and school district officials.

Avalon Bay's vice president for development Matt Whalen said the scaled-down proposal was only made possible because the Bonavita family, current owners of the housing site, agreed to take less money than was agreed to in the original deal.

"The family's willingness to renegotiate the property price was the key to putting this deal together," Whalen said in a statement. "Without this concession, there simply would not be a second submission by AvalonBay."

Of the 379 units proposed, 80 percent, or 303 units, would be rental homes and 20 percent, or 76 units, would be for-sale homes. The mix of apartment homes will consist of 94 one-bedroom units, 181 2-bedroom units, and 104 three-bedroom residences. As written in the R-3M town code, 54 of the apartment homes will be designated as work force housing.

There is no longer a transit-oriented development zone attached to the new Avalon Bay proposal, something that school district officials opposed.

As for impact to the schools, the scaled-down development is expected to result in 65 to 78 additional school-aged children. It is estimated that the net cost to the school district (tax revenue generated by the new development minus the cost of educating the expected new students) for this new student population will result in an annual surplus ranging from $2,067 to $307,255, according to Avalon Bay.

That's compared to a $1,676,987 net annual cost to the school district for the estimated 128 new students who would live in 109 single family homes, the current zoning on the property, according to the Avalon Bay statement.

Whalen said the new proposal has the support of a majority of the town board.

"Although we are not naïve about a hardened anti-development minority, we are very confident that the overwhelming majority of town residents will welcome this new proposal," Whalen said in the statement.

Without Zoning Issue, School Board Won't Fight Avalon  [Top]
Huntington Patch- Pam Robinson

Huntington school board president William Dwyer has reiterated the board's stand on a key portion of a proposal to build a large number of homes in Huntington Station.

Absent a rezoning issue, the school board won't get involved. "Our position on any proposal from Avalon Bay is that as long as they develop in compliance with existing zoning codes, we will have nothing to say in the matter," Dwyer said this week.

AvalonBay initially proposed building a 530-unit, 978 bedroom development, but after consultation with the town, Avalon Huntington Station's unit number was decreased to 944 bedrooms in a 490-unit scenario.

At the time, it negotiated an agreement with the school board for a $1.5 million fee to offset the potential impact of the project on the schools. However, shortly before the Town Board rejected the plan in September, the school board voted to oppose the transit-oriented district that came with it because of concerns that the TOD would bring much more rezoning, and a potential school population increase, to Huntington Station. The school board has repeatedly drawn a distinction between the AvalonBay proposal and the TOD.

On Tuesday, AvalonBay submitted a scaled-back plan that does not include a TOD. The company said ts newest plan meets requirements under the town R-3M zoning code and would mean building 379 apartments in a mix of rentals and for-sale units. The project is for the north side of East Fifth Street near the LIRR station.

"The new project's considerably reduced density is identical to those of Avalon Court and Court North in Melville," the company said.

Matt Whalen, vice president for development, said, "Three weeks ago, when the Town invited us back into Huntington Station, I said that we'd have to consider it carefully, and we have done so.

"I want to emphasize that the only reason that a so dramatically downsized development is now economically feasible is because of major financial concessions by the Bonavita family. .. The family's willingness to renegotiate the property price was the key to putting this deal together.

"At the same time, the revised proposal, with its dramatically lower density, does not provide the financial resources to fund a public benefits package at the level of the package associated with the TOD project. It was, after all, the TOD's higher density that paid for the previous public benefits package."

Three members of the Town Board, Supervisor Frank Petrone, Glenda Jackson and Mark Cuthbertson, had invited Avalon to resubmit the proposal.

AvalonBay Submits Scaled-Down MF Plan  [Top]
GlobeSt.com- Paul Bubny
10 March 2011

AvalonBay Communities has submitted a scaled-down version of its plan to build multifamily housing here. The previous proposal for Avalon Huntington Station, which was voted down by the Town Board this past September, included a transit-oriented development component that's not in the downsized version. Town supervisor Frank Petrone did not respond by deadline to GlobeSt.com's requests for comment.

"The new, downsized development will have 111 fewer units and 176 fewer bedrooms than the TOD proposal," Matt Whalen, VP for development at AvalonBay, says in a release. "This is a significant reduction which changed dramatically the economics of the transaction." He adds that the density, total number of units and number of affordable housing units all are in conformance with existing zoning for the site.

Whalen says the only reason that the scaled-back project is economically feasible is that the current owners of the land, the Bonavita family, have agreed to accept less money. "The family's willingness to renegotiate the property price was the key to putting this deal together," he says. "Without this concession, there simply would not be a second submission by AvalonBay."

The revised proposal wouldn't provide the financial resources to fund a public benefits package "at the level of the package associated with the TOD project," says Whalen. "It was, after all, the TOD's higher density that paid for the previous public benefits package."

Yet he says the revised plan's economic benefits will be "significant," and include job creation, economic revitalization "and the development of much-needed housing—both market rate and affordable. I think we can all agree that right now Long Island needs jobs, and this proposal will do just that."

Of the 379 units, down from the original 490, 80% will be rentals and 20% will be for-sale homes. Fifty-four units will be designated as workforce housing.

The scaled down development is expected to result in a total of 65 to 78 additional school-aged children, according to AvalonBay. The developer estimates the net cost to the school district—i.e. tax revenue generated by the new development minus the cost of educating the expected new students—will result in an annual surplus ranging from $2,067 to $307,255. That compares to a $1,676,987 net annual cost to the school district for the estimated 128 new students who would live in 109 single-family homes, says Avalon Bay.

The new submission came as the result of an invitation from members of the Town Board, GlobeSt.com reported last month. "Although we are not naïve about a hardened anti-development minority, we are very confident that the overwhelming majority of Town residents will welcome this new proposal," Whalen says.

Whalen says AvalonBay is confident that its revised submission will be "less controversial and garner more than enough support from the community. As the town knows, given market conditions, we have a limited window of opportunity to complete this project, and we're hopeful that the significant changes made in this new proposal will enable it to move quickly and smoothly through the approval process."

Huntington open to new AvalonBay proposal  [Top]
Newsday- Deborah S. Morris

Three Huntington town board members have extended an invitation to AvalonBay officials to submit a smaller proposal for rental housing in Huntington Station - and AvalonBay has accepted.

In September, a controversial AvalonBay plan was rejected by the board over the project’s density.

AvalonBay Communities vice president Matthew Whalen said he has had conversations in recent days with town Supervisor Frank Petrone and board members Mark Cuthbertson and Glenda Jackson, asking him to try again.

"I'm encouraged by the meetings," Whalen said Wednesday. "I need to go back to both my corporate office and the sellers of the property to see what kind of feasibility there is in an alternative, downsized plan."

The three board members said they are hopeful Whalen comes back with a smaller plan that would use zoning categories already in the town code.

Last year's proposal for 490 units on a 26.6-acre parcel a half-mile from the local Long Island Rail Road stop offered people of varying income and ages housing near mass transit to decrease dependence on cars. Resident objections included fear of overburdened services and the creation of a new zoning category allowing higher-density housing in Huntington Station. Cuthbertson backed the plan but changed his mind after the Huntington school board withdrew its support. The proposal was defeated, 3-2.

"I've always said to [Whalen] that the door was open if they would come back with a proposal that was less dense and . . . and can meet current zoning," Cuthbertson said.

Board member Mark Mayoka said he was not aware of a new proposal and wants a moratorium on high-density housing in Huntington Station.

"We need to focus on the issue of crime, safety issues and work toward reopening the Jack Abrams school," Mayoka said. "This is what the community wants us to do."

Whalen had no details of a new proposal but expects AvalonBay to complete a feasibility study within two weeks. Before the former proposal's defeat, he said it could not be scaled back for economic reasons. He said that is still a concern. "There are some basic economics that would have to change in order for this to be feasible," Whalen said, "and if it's feasible it's going to be primarily with concessions from the seller."

Property owner Louis Bonavita did not return calls.

Town board member Susan Berland, who voted against the former project said she was not aware a new proposal was imminent. "Not having a seat at the table I have no idea what they invited him back for," she said. "I have lots of ideas that Avalon didn't listen to the first time. Maybe if they invited me to the table maybe they would listen to me this time."

Cantor: Huntington Station needs AvalonBay   [Top]
Long Island Business News- Martin Cantor

There may be good news on the economic horizon for Huntington Station. With Avalon Bay taking a second look at the feasibility of a smaller version of its original rental housing project, perhaps the second time will be a charm for approval of this important economic development initiative.

This time, it appears the Town of Huntington's decision makers, Supervisor Frank Petrone and Councilpersons Glenda Jackson and Mark Cuthbertson, will provide the votes on the town board to make it happen. Even the school board, which should have never stuck its nose into the original project's approval process, has indicated that if the project adheres to current zoning, it will not object.

All this should be good news for Huntington Station, a community that has for so many years been desperately seeking economic revitalization. Most Long Islanders have long forgotten that Huntington Station was once a manufacturing center of Suffolk County that was destroyed by the urban renewal policies of the 1960s and '70s. These policies widened New York Avenue, gentrified and bisected the community, and vaporized the business district. Since then, Huntington Station has struggled to recapture its once-vibrant economy. AvalonBay can be an integral element in that economic recovery and the town board's willingness to look at a smaller plan is both welcome and necessary.

Importantly, AvalonBay provides rental housing for young people, so necessary for sustaining the regional work force. Few will argue that Long Island has become a region were single-family housing has become so expensive for first-time home buyers. This is borne out by the fact that so many young people are leaving the region for less expensive areas of the country. We are literally exporting our future economic activity rather than ensuring that projects such as AvalonBay succeed in providing housing for our young families.

For success, Huntingtonians have to overcome the anxiousness that change brings. But change is happening, whether we want it or not. The region is getting older, new cultures call Long Island home and formerly robust defense and manufacturing sectors have yielded to a technology- and consumer-driven economy.

The challenge for Long Island: If we don't control how our region changes with the times, the times will make those changes for us and those changes may be far from what Long Islanders want.

AvalonBay, Round 2  [Top]
Huntington Patch- Pam Robinson

Get ready for round two.

Town Supervisor Frank Petrone and two members of the Town Board are encouraging AvalonBay to come back and try again to build a housing development in Huntington Station.

And Mark Cuthbertson, who provided a key vote to reject the controversial proposal last fall, is one of the board members inviting the company to resubmit a plan.

For its part, AvalonBay is still interested. Matt Whalen, vice president at AvalonBay, said in a statement, "We are very pleased with the invitation to come back into Huntington Station with the support of Town officials. Over the last few days, I listened carefully to the position of the Town Supervisor and Councilpersons Jackson and Cuthbertson. It's clear that AvalonBay has some work to do over the next several weeks to determine if a scaled down development is financially feasible, but we are taking this invitation to return to Huntington Station very seriously and will review it carefully. It's important to us that the Town Council support our going forward with this project, and so far I have received very strong indications that this is the case."

AvalonBay had tried for more than a year to win approval for its construction on the north side of East Fifth Street near the LIRR station. Its original proposal called for a 530-unit, 978-bedroom development, later scaled back to 944 bedrooms in a 490-unit plan. Its proposal would have offered a mix of residential housing, including some rentals, with a 25 percent component of workforce, affordable housing, in one-, two- and three-bedroom homes. The land is owned by the Bonavita family, which planned to build 109 single-family homes on the acreage.

But in September, the Town Board, faced with heated objections and concerns about expanded zoning changes, high-density developments, and fears about crime and overcrowded schools, voted the project down, 3-2.

Cuthbertson, Mark Mayoka and Susan Berland voted against it; Jackson and Petrone supported it.

Petrone this week talked at length about what such a large project would mean in Huntington Station, arguing that it would be a component in the revitalization of the community.

Building the development "signals other developers that we are revitalizing Huntington Station, says, 'let's put our money there.' That basically is the domino effect—it's not just the housing but the influx of investment that feeds the economy and says that we're open for business," Petrone said. "This is a $100 million project.

"I've been talking to them (AvalonBay) since it initially went down," Petrone said. "I suggested they talk to my colleagues and they did."

"You see where the controversy lies, the TOD and the density so it wasn't going to work," Petrone said. "You're not going to get the same number of units. You can't say it's happening until you see a plan and go through the process. We're not just going to go around and have it fall apart again. It's definitely not good for the town, the community or Avalon. We know what the issues are. So if you can look at those issues and satisfy those issues, I'm of the opinion that is a very worthwhile project."

"I hope something is submitted that is workable," Petrone said. "We need a project in there tomorrow. You've got to accept something to get something else. You're not going to have everybody supportive. Are there traffic concerns? Most definitely. Traffic, density, etc. those are things they would be looking to mitigate. Over the course of time, how would you mitigate your concerns. You've got to accept something to get something else."

Any new proposal can be expected to spark further debate, perhaps even among those appearing to be on the same side.

A few days before the Town Board vote in September, Cuthbertson decided to oppose it, citing a vote earlier in the week by the Huntington Board of Education.

But Cuthbertson angered the school board when he said the school board had changed its mind and withdrawn its support of AvalonBay. School board president Bill Dwyer said the board had earlier agreed to accept a $1.5 million "mitigation fee," because Avalon's plan would have brought in fewer children than the plan for the single-family homes on the same site.

The school board hadn't taken a position, for or against, the Avalon plan itself. But the Transit-Oriented District that some feared would alter zoning beyond the Avalon development, led the school board to oppose a plan that might have a negative impact on the school district by significantly adding to the school population.

Jackson, Mayoka and Cuthbertson did not respond to requests for comment about the issue.

Town To AvalonBay: Come Back  [Top]
Board members invite developers to discuss scaled-down plans for Huntington Station
The Long Islander- Danny Schrafel

It seems that town board members want AvalonBay in Huntington Station.

The town has invited AvalonBay Communities to submit another proposal for developing a 26.6-acre parcel in Huntington Station, but this time at a lower density.

Huntington Councilwoman Glenda Jackson confirmed that discussions took place between Matt Whalen, AvalonBay's vice president of development, Supervisor Frank Petrone, Councilman Mark Cuthbertson and herself. Whalen was invited to submit a development plan that would fit within the town's R3M garden apartment zoning code, which allows for 14.5 units per acre. That would amount to 380 units.

"I think that it's something that community needs, " Jackson said. "It will create some much-needed jobs and certainly will give some affordable housing to folks that really need it. Unfortunately, the affordable component will be less than what was in the original proposal, but it's still a great investment in the community. "

In a 3-2 vote in September 2010, the town board defeated AvalonBay's proposal for 490 units on 26.6 acres at the corner of East 5th Street and Park Avenue following months of intense debate over the project and the creation of a transit-oriented district, which would have allowed for the high density. AvalonBay said the project would have brought more than $100 million in private investment, badly needed affordable housing and $2.5 million in community enhancements to Huntington Station.

After the first proposal was defeated, the Bonavita family, which owns the property, said they would build as many as 109 single-family homes on their 26.6-acre parcel, as per its current zoning.

Councilwoman Susan Berland, who voted no on the initial project, said she was not included in the recent discussions with AvalonBay. She added, however, that the town board would have likely approved an R3M-compliant project, much like what was built in Melville at Avalon Court.

"They would have a shovel in the ground by now," she said.

Under the 490-unit proposal, AvalonBay was to contribute $1.5 million in a voluntary payment to Huntington School District. The school district, however, voted to oppose the creation of a transit-oriented district, which was necessary to allow AvalonBay's plan under town code.

Huntington Station resident Matt Harris, a vocal opponent of the project, is waiting to see exactly what an R3M Avalon Huntington Station would entail.

"I'd want to see whatever they come up with because I'd still be opposed to R3M if there are three- and four-story buildings, " he said. "They've got to come up with a plan, and we have to see if they still want to do the $1.5 million with the school district. There's a lot of 'ifs' involved | my main question is why the hell they didn't come up with this in the first place."

Jennifer LaVertu, a Huntington Station resident who also fought hard against AvalonBay, seemed to be bracing for round two. When she learned that AvalonBay might make a new proposal, she said, "I double-dog dare them."

AvalonBay May Get Second Shot on LI  [Top]
GlobeSt.com- Paul Bubny

Shot down by the Huntington Town Board this past September, AvalonBay Communities' plan to build a rental apartment complex here may have a new lease on life. Newsday reported that three members of the board have invited the apartment REIT to submit a lower-density proposal than the plan rejected by the town.

The original $110-million plan for Avalon Huntington Station called for 490 multifamily units on 26 acres, and would have required rezoning to create a transit-oriented district. Some area residents opposed the project on grounds that it would have brought New York City-like housing density to the community, eroded property values and overburdened infrastructure. The Town Board voted 3-2 not to approve the rezoning.

In a statement, AvalonBay VP Matthew Whalen says the company is "very pleased with the invitation to come back into Huntington Station with the support of town officials." Over the last few days, Whalen says, he "listened carefully" to the positions of town supervisor Frank Petrone and board members Glenda Jackson and Mark Cuthbertson.

"It's clear that AvalonBay has some work to do over the next several weeks to determine if a scaled-down development is financially feasible, but we are taking this invitation to return to Huntington Station very seriously and will review it carefully," Whalen says in his statement. "It's important to us that the Town Council support our going forward with this project, and so far I have received very strong indications that this is the case."

The developer's 490-unit plan, scaled back from 530 units, would have included 8% affordable housing and 9% workforce housing, according to a fact sheet. AvalonBay also planned to provide $2.25 million in community benefits, including a $1.5-million mitigation fee to the school district. The school board, which originally voted to accept the fee, later changed course, leading Cuthbertson to withdraw his support for the project.

LIA chief urges AvalonBay to try again  [Top]
Newsday- James Bernstein

Long Island Association president Kevin Law is asking AvalonBay, whose hopes to build a 490-unit housing project in Huntington Station were dashed by the town board last year, to try again.

In a letter to AvalonBay president Tim Naughton in late December, Law noted that the company has already invested millions of dollars on the Island in studies in its failed efforts to build the development, which would have included some affordable units.

"Please don't let the setback in Huntington discourage you from further investing in our area," Law said. "Long Island still has all of the assets that attracted Avalon here in the first place, like our parks, beaches, golf courses and proximity to New York City."

Law also said the LIA would "galvanize the business community to ensure that the unfortunate land use process in Huntington never happens again to Avalon or any other smart transit-oriented development project again."

"We want you here," Law concluded. "We need you here."

Avalon's proposal was turned down by the town board in a 3-2 vote in September. Opponents said the project was too dense for the area.

In a statement, Matt Whalen, an AvalonBay vice president, did not commit to another such effort but said that the company is hopeful that under Law's leadership "the business community will help promote sound new developments across Long Island and counterbalance all of the forces which are trying to ensure that nothing is built" here.

Desmond Ryan, executive director of the developers' group Association for a Better Long Island, said that while he welcomed Law's idea, the market has changed dramatically in the last few years. Home prices are markedly lower in both Nassau and Suffolk and the number of houses on the market remains large. For Avalon to now make another investment into such a market would be "extremely difficult," Ryan said.

Huntington Town supervisor Frank Petrone said he expects AvalonBay to make another proposal, albeit smaller, sometime in the future.