Long Island Real Estate Briefs

Ground breaks on Long Island's first 'green' mall

The first shovels pierced the soil at the site of the Tanger Outlets at the Arches project in Deer Park earlier this month, breaking ground on what is touted as an environmentally friendly retail development.

In short: Long Island's first "green" shopping mall, according to developers.

The "green" designation is based on standards set by the U.S. Green Building Council, whose Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System scores projects according to five concerns of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality, according to the council's Web site.

"This project dramatically underscores the ability of Long Island to reinvent itself and what can be accomplished when a public/private partnership sets a course to achieve a consensus for smart growth," Edward Blumenfeld, president and chief executive of Syosset's Blumenfeld Development Group, which is helming the Arches construction, said in a statement.

Blumenfeld was joined at the May 2 groundbreaking by Babylon Supervisor Steve Bellone, Babylon Town Board members and other key players on the development team, including BDG Vice President David Blumenfeld, Tanger Factory Outlet Centers Inc. Chairman Stanley K. Tanger and President Steven B. Tanger, Apollo Real Estate Group Managing Partner Richard Mack and Mark Holdings President David Shore.

Bellone is thrilled that the Arches will soon be a reality, and why not? The upscale outlets are expected to generate around 2,000 construction jobs (and about $97 million in salaries) before the project is completed in the summer of 2008; when they open, the stores will create 1,600 permanent jobs. It is estimated that overall, the development will have a $137 million impact on the local economy.

The Arches will feature Tanger's brand-name outlet stores, with an emphasis on luxury goods. Fashioned after an old-world marketplace, the 800,000-square-foot development will also feature restaurants, cafÈs and a multiplex theater.

Breslin doubles pleasure with Sixth Avenue deals

Breslin Realty has plugged in Sixth Avenue Electronics with two new deals, one a lease and one a sale.
The first is a new 15-year lease, surpassing $5 million, for the 20,000-square-foot space already housing the chain's first Long Island store (once the home of Seaman's Furniture) at 235 Old Country Road in Carle Place.
Breslin brokers Bill deSeve and Alan L. Berger have also negotiated the sale of another 20,000-square-foot building, this in Commack, to the fast-growing, New Jersey-based consumer electronics chain. The building at 755 Larkfield Road, formerly an indoor flea market, went for $4.4 million, and will become Sixth Avenue's second Long island location (it has nine in New Jersey).

Apartments, affordable units sprouting across Hempstead

After decades of being ignored by investors, Hempstead is suddenly getting a lot of play.
Besides the $2 billion proposal to redevelop a portion of Main Street, activity in the village's residential sector is starting to percolate. ABC Properties of Manhattan has finished renovating 130 co-op units at the Cedar Valley Apartments, which are selling for $75,000 to $155,000 apiece. And at 100 Terrace Ave., 417 Section 8-subsidized apartment units were purchased and are being rehabbed by D&F Consultants of Lake Success, with the help of $43 million in Town of Hempstead IDA bonds.

Other affordable housing projects recently completed include 240 apartments at 295 South Franklin St., which were bought and renovated by Park Lake Residences LP for $40 million; and 128 units at Woods Edge at 110 Jerusalem Ave., which were purchased and redone by the Richmond Group Development Corp. with $6.5 million from IDA bonds.