AvalonBay: doom and gloom that never came

The AvalonBay complex houses close to 500 residents. But the facility doesn’t cause traffic problems on the street.

Christina Daly/Herald

Many of the apartments at AvalonBay include luxury kitchens.

Courtesy AvalonBay

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The old Darby Drugs site on Banks Avenue was, for years, a toxic area that sat fallow. Developers came and went, but nothing happened with the property.

The site was contaminated from years of dry cleaning chemicals seeping into the ground. Before anything could be built, the ground needed to be remediated — a task that would turn away most developers. And when developers did come in, previous village officials delayed development which ultimately led to a lawsuit that cost the village millions.

When AvalonBay purchased the site, many residents were still unhappy. They were concerned the company’s plan to build a 349-unit complex would cause huge traffic jams in the area. Or worse, it was going to flood the schools with dozens of students and cause class sizes to swell. The apartment residents would strain village services. Or it would turn into Section 8 housing. And worst of all, they would do all of this without paying taxes.

Except things haven’t quite turned out that way.

AvalonBay opened in Rockville Centre in 2011, part of a growing chain of high-end apartment complexes across the country. With 349 units, there are around 500 residents living in the complex. In the year it opened, it was the most successful AvalonBay community that year.

“There are some beautiful single-family home communities [on Long Island], and we’ve become a real good alternative to those single-family home communities,” said Chris Capece, senior development director for AvalonBay.

AvalonBay Rockville Centre is a self-contained community. The grounds are manicured and feature a large courtyard. There is a parking garage with controlled access and a heated swimming pool, as well as a community barbecue area (for the warmer months). Residents have access to an on-site gym, as well as community rooms for gatherings.

One of the biggest concerns when AvalonBay was under development was that it would be Section 8, low-income housing.

But Avalon is the opposite — it’s a high-end, luxury development. Rent starts at $2,350 for a one-bedroom apartment and $3,235 for a two-bedroom.