Hempstead Green-Lights Benefits For 246-Unit Apartment Complex, IDA Says

HEMPSTEAD, NY — Developers for a $123 million apartment complex secured a modified incentive package Tuesday morning that will clear the way for construction of 246 apartments on a 1.69-acre plot off Main Street, the Industrial Development Agency announced.

The developers received an updated 25-year Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement, a mortgage recording tax exemption and a sales and use tax exemption, IDA officials said. According to the announcement, this is not the first time the developers have come before Hempstead officials. The IDA said it had previously approved development incentives for a Charlotte, NC-based group to build 173 apartments on the property in 2021, with four years of those incentives' terms passing between that approval and now.

Back in 2021, the estimated cost of the project sat at $77 million. Last year, Patch reported a preliminary approval of the project at a $114 million price point under the leadership of Hempstead resident and Planning Board member Rashid Walker. A year later, still under Walker's ownership, it’s estimated at $123 million. Walker was part of the development team that secured the last benefits package, the IDA said, having begun work on it in 2015 with a former employer of his, continuing the efforts to develop the property with other partners before buying out the current LLC from one of those partners.

“We’re optimistic that Mr. Walker can again move this project forward as part of the revitalization of Hempstead,” IDA CEO Fred Parola said. “Upon completion, it will provide much-needed rental housing for residents of the Village and the Town.”

In addition to building 246 apartments, IDA officials said the $123 million project proposed would feature over 6,000 feet of ground-level retail space and an almost 11,000 square-foot parking garage.

The parking garage is about 5,000 square-feet bigger than it was last spring when the project gained approval, while there's about 2,000 feet less of retail space in this version of the proposal. In last year's reporting, Patch said the project would feature 8,600 square feet of ground-floor retail space and 104,468 feet of parking garage space.

Additionally, in accordance with Hempstead village code, 25 apartments will be set aside for what it called “attainable housing,” defined in village code as, “Dwellings consisting of rental or for-sale units to be sold or rented to purchasers or renters earning no more than 80% to 130% of median income for the Village of Hempstead or Nassau County.”

IDA officials said the project would create 100 construction jobs as well as five permanent, full-time positions. Construction, Walker said, would take about 30 months, beginning in July.