Proposed W.H. apt. building gets zoning OK

Barry Leon is finally starting to see the light at the end of a long tunnel he has traveled in the hope of constructing an apartment building at 40 Hempstead Gardens Drive in West Hempstead.

Last month, the Town of Hempstead approved his request for a zoning change, altering the property’s designation from light manufacturing to urban renewal. “The tentative working name of the building right now is Westminster Garden,” Leon said of his proposed three-story building. “It will be constructed using the Tudor style, so the name fits.”

The building would house 54 one- and two-bedroom rentals, and take up only part of the property. “Our building will be a much less dense fit than 130 West,” Leon said, referring to the apartment building that would neighbor his. “They fit on three acres and have 155 apartments. We have two acres and only 54 apartments.”

Leon said that the town wanted to make the area more livable and “happening,” and now that the Courtesy Hotel is gone, that’s a much easier task. “Everybody realizes it’s a nice idea for that area to be awakened,” he said. “We no longer have the dregs of society at the Courtesy, so the area is getting nicer and nicer.”

Leon, who would partner with family members and a few outside investors to fund the project, said that rents would be in the neighborhood of $1,800 to $2,200 for one-bedroom units, and over $2,000 for two-bedrooms. “The 130 West apartment building is offering two-bedrooms in the $2,500 range,” he said, “but they have a few more amenities than we have, so I’m guessing we’ll be several hundred dollars cheaper.” He added that all units would have washers and dryers, and the building would have a fitness center and a community room.

The property, which is triangular, abuts Hempstead Avenue and runs along the tracks of the Long Island Rail Road’s West Hempstead branch.

The next step for Leon is getting a building permit, which he expects to have in six to eight months. “Once we have that, I’m hoping we can essentially build by summer 2015,” he said. “But that’s slightly optimistic. It might end up being fall.”

The ground-floor apartments would all be handicapped-accessible, with no steps, and have backyards. More than half of the units would have two bedrooms, and some one-bedroom units apartments would have an office/study.

A taxi company currently sublets part of the property, and Leon feels that it would be advantageous to keep it there. “I’m not sure they’ll allow it,” he said, referring to the Town of Hempstead. “We still have space for the few desks they need on the property.”

He added that there were some necessary changes that had to be made to his original plans before his permits could be submitted. “They wanted the building set back 10 to 15 feet from the street,” he said of the town. “The original renderings had it right up to the street.”

Leon said he often rides his bike around the area, and has noticed beautiful homes very close to his property and some not-so-nice properties that he hopes will change. “Someday they’ll do something about that giant parking lot across the street,” he said of the tattered building and parking lot owned by Breslin Realty. Breslin CEO Wilburn Breslin told the Herald last month that the building is scheduled for demolition within six months, and that a new plan for the property was in the works.