Harbor Isle rezoning OK’d

Developer Michael Posillico’s plans for the southern tip of Harbor Isle came one step closer to completion when the Town of Hempstead Board of Trustees approved his plans for the area at a meeting on July 13.

Additionally, the board also approved Posillico’s plan to turn some of the units—no more than 10 percent of them—into rental units in the early stages of the development.

“The way the project is going to work, we’re not going to build the whole project at once,” Posillico said. “We’re building a unit section and selling that. But for some reason, if they’re not selling and we’ve got it constructed, we’d be able to rent in the short term until we’re able to sell it.”

The final plans were very similar to the previous plans submitted by Posillico. The main differences were the addition of the renting option and an increase in the number of units being built—from 167 to 172.

Renting units is not an ideal circumstance for Posillico—selling the units is the main goal.

“[Renting will] enhance our ability to underwrite the construction loan for the project,” he said. “And then as the project continues to sell, the rentals will phase out.” And at the most, a maximum of 10 percent of the units, or about 17, will be able to be rented, and only for a maximum of five years.

The development would be built in phases. When one block of buildings is complete, Posillico would start to sell or rent them. The rentals would, theoretically, be easier to occupy and would give Posillico’s company cash flow to help it underwrite the construction loans.

Posillico still has approvals to get before construction can begin. The site, which used to be used as a fueling station, also needs to be decontaminated. Posillico hopes construction can begin in 2012.

Comments about this story? ACostello@liherald.com or (516)569-4000 ext. 269.