By JUDY RATTNER
, for $13.5 million, according to people familiar with the deal. AvalonBay is expected to develop the 7.1-acre property, which is currently approved for 349 residential units, into studios, one- and two-bedroom rental apartments that it will call Avalon at Rockville Centre.
Chase Partners LLC, a New Jersey-based residential developer that was in contract to purchase the property from Darby, had appealed the Village of Rockville Centre's denial of its application to build an $85 million luxury complex on the site, and won. In a September decision, Nassau County Supreme Court Judge Bruce D. Alpert said Chase's proposed Signature Place project complied with Rockville Centre's zoning code at the time.
Alpert's ruling criticized village officials for what he said was an intentional delay of the project in an attempt to change code requirements and deny permission to build. The judge also ordered the village to issue a building permit for the 420,000-square-foot project, without any changes, as soon as Chase Partners completed a cleanup of a brownfield under the site. According to those familiar with the deal, Chase Partners has assigned the contract to AvalonBay, which closed on the property and plans to go forward with its development, subject to ongoing litigation involving Darby, Chase and the village.
"AvalonBay is a high-level qualified development firm, and we are extremely excited about the opportunity to build one of our communities in one of the premier downtowns in Long Island," said Matthew Whalen, vice president of development for AvalonBay. "These types of downtown developments are part of the housing solution for Long Island, and with the company's extensive experience with brownfield sites and transit-oriented communities, we believe it is a perfect fit."
AvalonBay Communities has executive offices in Alexandria, Va., and regional offices throughout the country. It describes itself as being in the business of developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing "high-quality" apartment communities in "high barrier-to-entry markets." As of September, it owned or held an interest in 182 apartment communities comprising nearly 52,000 apartments in 10 states and the District of Columbia. Nineteen of those communities were under construction, and nine were being reconstructed. The company says it holds future development rights for 52 additional communities.
AvalonBay has developed several communities on Long Island, in Long Beach, Glen Cove, Melville, Smithtown and Coram. It was recently named the developer of the St. Paul's project in Garden City.
The Village of Rockville Centre had no comment as of press time.
Comments about this story? RVCeditor@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 208.
