$30.57M apartment project seeks IDA assist

The developer of a $30.57 million apartment project in Valley Stream is seeking economic incentives from the Town of Hempstead Industrial Development Agency. 

West Jamaica Holdings LLC, an entity owned by Alexander Rivero, is planning to develop a five-story, 81,375-square-foot on a .57-acre lot at 54 and 68 W. Jamaica Ave. The development site is located just one block from the Valley Stream Long Island Rail Road station and two blocks from the downtown business district.  

The 63-unit apartment building will be replacing a former funeral home and a vacant single-family home. 

The transit-oriented project will bring 16 studio apartments, 29 one-bedroom units and 18 two-bedroom units. The average size of the apartments will be 743 square feet for studios, 962 square feet for one-bedroom units and 1,386 square feet for two-bedroom units. 

Monthly rents for the development have yet to be established. There will be 56 on-site parking spaces and other amenities will include a community room and rooftop deck, according to its IDA application. 

The Village of Valley Stream approved a zoning change for the property in June 2021 and granted the developer site-plan approval in May 2022. The developer is seeking exemptions for mortgage recording and sales taxes, as well as a 20-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement from the IDA. The applicant says the development addresses the “pressing need” for rental housing in the area and that the project will not be “financially viable” without the IDA incentives. 

“This is an excellent example of a village addressing its need for additional multifamily housing in an open and efficient process,” said attorney Peter Curry of Farrell Fritz, who is representing the project before the IDA. “We are confident that the Hempstead IDA will understand the need for additional rental housing for all segments of the population and will provide the economic assistance necessary to bring this project to fruition.” 

Construction on the apartment project is expected to start soon and take about 28 months to complete. 

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