Two building developments in Roslyn will receive tax breaks from the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency.
One of the applications involves 281-301 Warner Ave., where local developer J.K. Equities will replace a strip mall of empty storefronts with a $41.1 million mixed-use, transit-oriented project adding 54 rental units. The project will include 6,600 square feet of commercial space.
The Village of Roslyn’s Board of Trustees unanimously voted in March to approve the proposal. In October, the board passed a change of zoning from commercial to mixed-use.
The application did not specify the amount of tax breaks being sought.
Residents of the area, as well as the Roslyn school district, were critical of the project, citing concerns over traffic congestion and parking scarcity, among other things.
Regarding the proposal, Mayor John Durkin said the village considers development projects very seriously.
“We are attempting to accommodate new residents, make a better place for them and also make Roslyn a better place for people who live there already,” Durkin said at the time. “We’re aware of the problems that people surrounding it have. We think we’ve taken that into consideration to upgrade to a very big extent and we’ve done really well with that. I think we were very deliberate in our process. We didn’t rush through this. We took a tremendous amount of input from everybody.”
Also receiving economic incentives is 45 Lumber Road, where Huntington-based G2D Development will create a four-story, 33-unit apartment building. The total project is $22.2 million and sits on 1.37 acres.
The IDA Board of Directors granted preliminary approval for benefits for both projects at its meeting on Nov. 18.
In October 2020, the Roslyn board said it would approve special permits for the Lumber Road plans, which are said to measure a maximum of 58.7 feet tall.
Original plans called for the building to be 12 stories but drew criticism from residents as well as the Roslyn school district.
Of the 33 apartments, six will be considered affordable housing.
The board’s decision last year states that the applicants will reserve 20 percent of the apartments for affordable workforce housing; will contribute $10,000 per unit for each of the 33 apartments to the village; will construct 250 feet of waterfront walkway for public use; and will make numerous improvements, including building and insuring an easement to the intersection of Lumber Road and Old Northern Boulevard.
