By Dana Williams
The 150-unit building, to be called the Alexan at West Hempstead Station, is not only slated to replace the crime-ridden Courtesy Hotel, but is also expected to jump-start the revitalization of a roughly 10 1/2-acre area along Hempstead Avenue that is in need of more commercial activity and pedestrian traffic.
The Trammell Crow project was honored on June 19 at Vision Long Island�s annual Smart Growth Awards. Trammell Crow was one of 11 honorees at the event, which recognizes efforts that promote economically sustainable and environmentally friendly growth on Long Island. The developer was the recipient of the Revitalizing Communities award.
�We are delighted to receive the Vision Long Island Revitalizing Communities award,� said Maria Rigopoulos, a vice president at Trammell Crow. �It is great that the Alexan at West Hempstead Station project is being recognized for the positive impact that it will have in the local community by permanently closing the contentious Courtesy Hotel and replacing it with a new, upscale, transit-oriented apartment community.�
The developer maintains that the project will be a key strategy in kick-starting a walkable, transit-oriented community on Hempstead Avenue. The 2.7-acre site is also near West Hempstead�s business district. The four-story building, which will be constructed next to the West Hempstead Long Island Rail Road station, will include one-, two- and three- bedroom apartments with rents ranging from $1,900 to $2,700, and an underground parking garage. The complex will feature a clubhouse lounge, a cyber cafe, a catering kitchen, a fitness center and a pool, among other amenities.
�The Trammell Crow Residential project is really aiming to bring something needed to West Hempstead and Long Island, and that�s why we chose Trammell Crow for this award,� explained Eric Alexander, executive director of Vision Long Island. �People living on Long Island want to have access to New York City and public transportation, and they want to live in a building where they have amenities on the premises and where they can walk to shop at local stores. The project shows what smart growth is all about.�
For more than two years, residents have urged the Town of Hempstead to approve the high-density complex, contending that it is what West Hempstead needs to help reinvent itself. The section of Hempstead Avenue it is planned for was deemed blighted by the Town of Hempstead in May 2006. Additional details about the complex � which will have on-site management and maintenance � are still being determined, but representatives said they are considering putting shops or eateries on the ground floor.
�The 150 new households will have good and strong disposable income, and we believe they will be spending in the local economy by frequenting local shops and using local restaurants,� Rigopoulos said. �A small development like this can still have a big fiscal impact in the area.�
In September 2006, the developer proposed the construction of 220 units on the property, but after a battle with the town that lasted over two years, the parties reached a density agreement and the project was scaled back to 150 units. They also created a new transit-oriented zoning density code, which will allow the construction of high-density projects on sites near train stations. The Hempstead town board moved to rezone the Courtesy site for residential use last Nov. 25, and approved the site plans for the project on June 2.
Trammell Crow is now applying for permits and obtaining construction financing. The firm plans to break ground for construction in the fall.
�The construction phase of this project is going to create a lot of jobs without a doubt, and we really believe that the building is going to revitalize the area in West Hempstead,� said Kenneth Friedrichsen, another vice president at Trammell Crow. �We have analyzed this site, and it�s at a good location for this kind of density, so we�re really looking forward to starting construction.�
Trammell Crow�s award marked the second year in a row that West Hempstead was recognized at the Vision Long Island awards. The West Hempstead Civic Association was presented with a Community Leadership award at last year�s ceremony for its efforts to replace the Courtesy with the apartment complex.
�We honored the civic association last year because although the project wasn�t approved just yet, we still wanted to highlight that the West Hempstead community was on the right track,� Alexander said. �The community really supported the Trammell Crow project, and now that it�s moving forward, we decided to recognize the developer and the project itself this year.�
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