Progress on new West Hempstead apartment complex

West Hempstead residents turned out en masse last week at a public meeting to learn more about the apartment complex being built at the former site of the Courtesy Hotel.

The complex, West 130, at 130 Hempstead Ave., a 2.7-acre infill that is adjacent to the West Hempstead Long Island Railroad station, is expected to open in October.

In May 2011, hundreds of residents joined civic leaders and town, county and state legislators to watch the demolition of the Courtesy, which marked the end of a decade-long fight to rid the hamlet of the seedy, crime-ridden building.

For years, many said, the Courtesy was the scene of prostitution, drugs and other crimes, posed a serious threat to the safety of area residents and diminished home values.

Maria Rigopoulos, a managing director of Mill Creek Residential Trust, the developer of West 130, told the Herald in May 2011 that it would take about two years to complete the complex, but that the company expected its first units to be finished this fall.

More than 40 people attended the meeting at the West Hempstead Public Library on June 14. At the event, hosted by the West Hempstead Community Support Association, Rigopoulos fielded questions about the complex and provided updates about the site.

Rosalie Norton, president of the Community Support Association, who was also a leader in the fight to close the Courtesy, invited Rigopoulos in order to keep the community informed about the project.

The 150-unit, four-story complex, Rigopoulos explained, will feature one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. There will be three-, six-, nine- and 12- month leases available, she noted.

Rents, Rigopoulos added, have not been set yet. “When we start opening our doors, we’ll set the rents,” she said. “We’ll look at what’s going on in the market. We probably will start pre-leasing sometime in late summer.”

She told residents that the building will feature a 5,000-square-foot-amenity and administrative space with an outdoor swimming pool and sun deck, landscaped courtyards, a billiard room, a clubhouse with a state-of-the-art fitness center and a café/coffee bar.

There will also be site garage parking, and each unit comes with a parking space. “That’s included in the rent,” Rigopoulos said.