By Anthony Rifilato
On Aug. 8, the town received proposals from three developers - Breslin Realty Development Corp., Blumenfeld Development Group and a joint venture between Basser-Kaufman and Engel Burman - that are expected to attract national retail chains to a stretch of Grand Avenue that many residents say has seen better days.
Town officials are in the process of reviewing the proposals, and will choose the developer that offers the best retail mix for the area, said Town Supervisor Kate Murray. Murray said the three developers being considered for the project are among the largest on Long Island, with proven ability to attract well-known, brand-name stores.
"What we'll do next is determine which bidder will be best for the community," Murray said, adding that the project should get under way in 2008. "Then we'll adopt an urban renewal plan and go right into condemnation proceedings. We're very excited because the project has gone along very smoothly."
The redevelopment project was announced early last year, after the town released the results of a blight study conducted in 2005, which found that 50 percent of stores along the west side of Grand Avenue and Merrick Road - south of Prospect Street and ending at Gale Avenue - were empty and in poor condition, and that the area was in need of an economic overhaul.
Town officials said they would acquire the roughly five-acre property through eminent domain and turn it over to a developer, who would assume the entire cost of the project, with none of that cost falling to taxpayers, according to Murray and others.
Last April, the town announced the three finalists, who had submitted conceptual plans for the area.
Murray and others said it was too early to name marquee stores that might come to Baldwin, since the developer has not yet been named. A decision is expected before the end of the year. In the meantime, at least one major retailer, Kohl's, has expressed interest, and is included in the Blumenfeld proposal, which calls for parking in front on Grand Ave. and a new Kohl's occupying what is now a municipal parking lot.
"Kohl's is extremely interested in the site," said Town Councilman Anthony Santino. "The other developers put in various, different retailers who have some interest, but nothing quite as concrete as Kohl's."
Santino said that the town still has to adopt an urban renewal plan for the area, and will discuss the proposals with community groups such as the Baldwin Chamber of Commerce before a decision is made. He acknowledged that one concern residents might have about the Blumenfeld proposal is that it relies on a single tenant - Kohl's - occupying the entire site, in contrast to the other proposals, which include not only an anchor tenant but a mix of retail stores, an issue the town is reviewing.
"With Kohl's, there are concerns that there is only one tenant," Santino said. "If something goes wrong, you lose that tenant and the building would be empty. With multiple tenants, if something happens to one you still have the others, and someone else will fill in. But Kohl's is a major national retailer."
Santino said that once a developer is chosen, it can begin negotiating leases with potential tenants, although there is a caveat, he explained. "If a developer says that 'we have a nail salon and a fast-food restaurant,' we'll pull that designation," Santino said. "The town will have control of this all the way through. We're not interested in a CVS or Walgreen's. This is something that's supposed to be separate and unique to Baldwin."
There is concern about the businesses still at the site, because many of them would be razed to make room for the project. Business owners would receive the fair market value for their properties following an appraisal process, which Santino said was recently completed.
Howard Gainsburg, owner of Baldwin Kitchen and Bath Designs on Merrick Road, which has been in town since 1929 but would be torn down, said that he has yet to receive an offer, but would like to be a part of the project or be relocated nearby. "We're still doing business and running our operation the way we always had," said Gainsburg, who, despite being in a "blighted" area, said he is doing great business. "Business was really good this summer. [The town] promised me a number of times that I'd be a part of the project, and we're hoping to be a part of it."
Murray said that she was aware that since the 2005 blight study, several small businesses have opened up in the area, and she added that the town would work with business owners and tenants during the relocation process. "While this is a redevelopment, we always try to preserve the mom-and-pop businesses that are situated in the area," Murray said. "We'll be in touch with businesses and residents well in advance, before they would have to actually relocate."
Despite the concerns about local businesses, the project has created a positive buzz in the community. With the recent opening of Best Buy on Sunrise Highway, as well as a recent Money magazine feature ranking Baldwin one of the 25 best places to live in the country, many residents said the downtown project is building on economic momentum. "We haven't seen from the RFP what these guys are going to bring there, and the key is going to be the stores that go in," said Doug Diana, a member of the chamber and the town Board of Zoning Appeals. "I've heard people say, 'Why did Best Buy come to Baldwin?' and I say, 'Why not?' I think that with the recent Money magazine ranking, it's going to restore credibility to the town. I think people will say that we're going through a renaissance here."
Comments about this story? Baldwineditor@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 207.
