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Tag: housing development

  • 2025’s greatest hits in Long Island real estate and development | Long Island Business News

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    In Brief:
    • , Trader Joe’s and national restaurant chains made major Long Island moves in 2025.
    • Large-scale residential and transit-oriented developments advanced in Patchogue, Westbury and East Northport.
    • and experiential continued expanding across former big-box spaces.
    • Rising construction costs, financing pressure and approvals slowed some development activity.

    While this year saw interest rates level off slightly from the nearly 7 percent average from the previous year, 2025 still presented a slew of obstacles for Long Island’s real estate and development industry.

    Tariffs on building materials and other products, hiring issues and the ever-present opposition to development projects were challenges to overcome this year. In addition, continued low inventory and soaring home prices plagued the residential market, cutting into sales activity and highlighting the need for more housing.

    Nevertheless, the region saw progress on some major development projects and some big deals in commercial real estate and the retail sector, with many new businesses planning or opening their first Long Island locations.

    As always, LIBN covered it all, reporting on some of the biggest business stories of the year.

    The new Wegmans store in Lake Grove. / Courtesy of Wegmans

    After eyeing Long Island for more than a decade, Wegmans finally opened its first supermarket here. Casanova, the chain’s animatronic rooster, began welcoming customers in February to the freshly minted 101,000-square-foot store at 3270 Middle Country in Lake Grove.

    Though the new Lake Grove store is the chain’s first on Long Island, it won’t be its last. Brokers say Wegmans is planning to eventually have three or four locations here; the company is actively pursuing sites and properties that can accommodate its 100,000-square-foot supermarkets.

    After opening those New York City stores, Wegmans finally secured a Long Island foothold in 2023 when it closed on its purchase of the 8.5-acre Lake Grove development site. The grocery chain paid Prestige Properties & Development, owner of DSW Plaza, $15.3 million for the property.

    Also in the supermarket space, LIBN was first to report that national grocery chain Trader Joe’s planned to develop a sprawling warehouse and distribution complex at the 66-acre former CA site in Islandia, which it purchased in August for $118.5 million.

    The Monrovia, Calif.-based supermarket chain’s Islandia distribution complex will total 921,000 square feet, which will be one of the largest single-user industrial properties on Long Island. And based on the staffing at the company’s other larger distribution centers, the Islandia hub could create as many as 800 jobs. The project will also open the door for the chain to expand its area retail footprint and add to its seven stores already on Long Island.

    In other retail news, LIBN broke the story that Rite Aid had missed rent payments in April, foretelling the chain closing all of its Long Island locations. The eventual Rite Aid closings announcement in May came as little surprise to Long Island landlords, as the struggling chain has closed several stores over the last few years and just 13 remained here.

    After emerging from bankruptcy in Sept. 2024, the formerly publicly traded corporation went private while cutting $2 billion in debt and adding $2.5 billion in exit financing. Rite Aid, which had more than 4,000 stores nationwide 30 years ago, has also slimmed its footprint and was down to about 1,400 stores as of Q3 2024, according to its website.

    And while Rite Aid is no longer, several new chains either opened or planned for their first Long Island locations this year. Prolific franchise firm Doherty Enterprises, which owns and operates Applebee’s and Panera Bread among others, will soon be opening the Island’s first Jinya Ramen Bar in Lake Grove with another to follow in Massapequa Park. Florida-based Mexican restaurant chain Rocco’s Tacos & Tequila Bar opened a 5,500-square-foot restaurant at Walt Whitman Shops this month, its first on Long Island.

    Dave’s Hot Chicken, the chain’s first here, opened a 2,555-square-foot eatery in the Parkway Plaza shopping center at 207 Glen Cove Road in Carle Place. The Froccaros, Long Island’s first family of franchisees, plan on eventually opening 14 Dave’s Hot Chicken locations—seven on Long Island and seven in Queens.

    LIBN was first to report that Joe & The Juice, a global chain of juice bar cafés,

    has leased locations in Woodbury and Manhasset, where it will debut the concept here. The Denmark-based chain, which primarily offers coffee, juice, shakes and sandwiches, is in the midst of an aggressive expansion. The first Long Island location will be the 2,769-square-foot store in Woodbury Town Plaza at 8025 Jericho Turnpike in Woodbury, formerly the long-time home of Gabby’s Bagels and the company will also open a 2,249-square-foot eatery in the new Manhasset Row at 1579 Northern Blvd. in Manhasset. Both will open next year.

    Pickleball continued its march to open clubs and facilities across the area. The first Long Island location for fast-growing pickleball chain The Picklr opened this month. The 33,900-square-foot club opened at 231 Centereach Mall in Centereach, a space formerly occupied by a Big Lots store. It features 11 courts with sound-reducing matrix systems and performance lighting, as well as a pro shop, café, lounge and locker rooms. Pickleball Heaven opened a 55,700-square-foot pickleball complex at 645 National Blvd. in Medford, featuring 18 courts, a 2,500-square-foot pro shop and player lockers and a 60-foot bar with a full kitchen.

    On the development side, some major projects moved forward in 2025. LIBN was first to report on a $160 million luxury apartment project primed to transform a rundown section of Patchogue‘s downtown. Farmingdale-based Nord Development Group, led by Joseph Rossi and Peter Ferrandino, recently began construction on a two-building, 455,000-square-foot residential rental complex that will bring 262 apartments to a 4.08-acre site on West Main Street.

    The development called Carriage House will create two five-story buildings bisected by the northern end of the Patchogue River. The plan includes a reclamation of the waterway and a new riverwalk and park area spanning 32,570 square feet. The buildings also provide on-site parking for 410 cars on the ground level and a slew of amenities.

    MTA’s rendering of the proposed $100M TOD at the Westbury LIRR station. / Courtesy of MTA

    LIBN also exclusively reported on a new $97 million transit-oriented residential development in Westbury from Manhattan-based Alpine Residential. The project will bring 187 apartments to a 1.91-acre site across from the Westbury LIRR station. LIBN was also first to report on Manhattan-based Gotham Organization’s proposed $100 million mixed-use development on the former MTA parking lot at the Westbury LIRR station.

    The Westbury project will be the MTA’s first on Long Island as part of its ongoing TOD campaign aimed at leveraging private investment to create housing opportunities on underutilized property at commuter train stations.

    Gotham plans to build a five-story, mixed-use building on 1.92 acres of an MTA-owned surface parking lot on Railroad Avenue. The plan would bring 157 apartments over 15,000 square feet of ground-level retail space to the now closed parking lot just south of the Westbury LIRR station, according to MTA documents.

    Other new developments that advanced this year included an $82 million project from Heatherwood Luxury Rentals called Heritage on Main, which will bring 165 apartments over 3,500 square feet of retail space to a 1.42-acre vacant site once occupied by a Sears store at 203-213 East Main St. The new five-story, 238,342-square-foot building will bring a mix of 52 studios, 80 one-bedroom and 33 two-bedroom market-rate apartments. Amenities at Heritage on Main will include a clubroom, fitness center, resident lounges and rooftop terrace with views of the Peconic River and beyond.

    Matinecock Court, an affordable limited-equity cooperative, is ready to welcome its first residents. / Photo by David Winzelberg

    Just before Thanksgiving, families began moving into the long-awaited Matinecock Court affordable development in East Northport. After more than 46 years in the making, the $97-million development, a partnership between D&F and Greenlawn-based Housing Help, the complex on 14.5 acres on the northwest corner of Elwood Road and Pulaski Road brings 146 residences in 17 two-story residential buildings consisting of 18 one-bedroom units, 89 two-bedroom units, 38 three-bedroom units and a two-bedroom unit for the superintendent. Eight of the units are reserved for individuals with developmental disabilities and five are set aside for veterans. The project includes a 2,500-square-foot community building with a fitness center, administrative offices and meeting areas for residents. It also has its own sewage treatment plant.

    Finally, in another LIBN exclusive, Taconic Capital closed on its $14 million purchase of a 13.3-acre development site next to Oheka Castle in Huntington, aimed at reviving a plan to develop a condominium project. The property, part of the Cold Spring Country Club, has been enmeshed with a controversial development plan for the last 17 years.

    Sources say Taconic is waiting to take over the castle property before it moves forward with a plan to build condos, possibly as many as 190. Taconic was granted a foreclosure judgment and was about to take over the property at a foreclosure sale scheduled for last August, when Gary Melius’ Oheka entity Kahn Property Owner filed for Chapter 11 on July 31 in a last-ditch effort to stop the foreclosure sale. The bankruptcy action automatically stayed the foreclosure proceedings, which are currently stalled.


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    David Winzelberg

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  • After nearly three years, these Bay Area cities still lack a state-approved housing plan

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    Nearly three years after the state’s deadline, a Bay Area county and three cities across the region still haven’t finalized their state-mandated housing plans, leaving them vulnerable to fines, loss of grant funding and the dreaded “builder’s remedy,” which can cost them control over land use decisions.

    San Mateo County and the cities of Half Moon Bay, Belvedere and Clayton have yet to secure state approval for their plans, which were due by Jan. 31, 2023.

    Every eight years, local governments across California are required to submit the plans, known as housing elements, which serve as roadmaps for how cities and counties aim to permit a specific number of homes across a range of affordability levels.

    Following decades of sluggish development and skyrocketing housing costs, state officials have significantly increased the homebuilding targets for most jurisdictions — and added new penalties for those failing to complete their plans on time.

    In total, the Bay Area’s 110 local governments are responsible for adding 441,000 new homes between 2023 and 2031, up from 187,990 in the previous eight-year cycle. So far, the region is far behind schedule in meeting the ambitious new goal, in part because of high interest rates and other market forces.

    Despite the threat of stricter penalties, housing advocates say the few remaining municipalities without completed housing elements appear to lack a sense of urgency in obtaining the state’s sign-off.

    “They’re mostly small and wealthy jurisdictions that probably feel they don’t have any obligation and that they can hire enough lawyers to get out of whatever obligation the state imposes on them,” said Matt Regan, a housing policy expert with the Bay Area Council, a pro-business group.

    Some local officials rejected the claim, saying they’ve worked closely with regulators to finalize the complex plans, which are typically hundreds of pages and outline a broad range of housing policies and practices.

    “There hasn’t been any foot-dragging happening in the city of Half Moon Bay,” said Leslie Lacko, community development director with the city.

    Earlier this month, the San Mateo County coastal city adopted a fifth draft of its plan to update policies on accessory dwelling units and other concerns from regulators. The city aims to submit the plan to the state officials this month.

    Since phasing in the new housing element rules, the state has only pursued serious penalties against a handful of cities, primarily in Southern California, for failing to secure approval for their plans. In 2023, state officials sued Hunnigton Beach, which has openly flouted the housing element process, putting it at risk of potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in monthly fines.

    The state’s Housing and Community Development department did not provide a response to questions about whether the state would seek to impose penalties against any Bay Area jurisdictions.

    Still, Bay Area communities that were late submitting their housing plans have been subject to the builder’s remedy, a provision in state law that allows developers to push through massive housing projects that exceed local zoning limits. Local governments are only required to accept such projects during periods when the state determines their housing elements are out of compliance.

    As of last year, cities and counties across the region had received at least 98 builder’s remedy proposals, totaling more than 13,000 units. Despite a flurry of headline-grabbing applications and the subsequent uproar from suburbanites that the builder’s remedy would “Manhattan-ize” their communities, it remains unclear how many projects have actually broken ground.

    In Belvedere, however, one developer used the threat of a large builder’s remedy proposal to persuade local officials last year to approve a smaller, 40-unit duplex project along the affluent Marin County city’s waterfront.

    Even so, Belvedere has yet to complete its housing element. In September, regulators sent the city a letter urging it to complete a required rezoning process to allow for more housing, a key aspect of its plan. The letter also reminded the city about potential fines and penalties for noncompliance, including ineligibility for certain state housing and transportation grants.

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    Ethan Varian

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  • Assisted living senior care site in Los Gatos lands buyer from Chicago

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    LOS GATOS — A senior living community in Los Gatos that opened its doors earlier this year has been bought for more than $50 million by a big-time real estate investor from Chicago.

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    George Avalos

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  • Bike, pedestrian improvements celebrated at North Berkeley BART Station

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    BERKELEY — Significant bicycle and pedestrian improvements have been completed at the North Berkeley BART Station, paving the way for better connections for hundreds of future neighborhood residents.

    Berkeley councilmembers, electeds from neighboring cities, city staff and community members gathered Monday to celebrate the completion of the North Berkeley Bicycle and Pedestrian Access Project.

    As part of the project, a section of the Ohlone Greenway, a 5.3-mile bike and pedestrian path, was widened between Acton and Virginia streets. Also added were separate two-way cycle tracks leading to BART entrances from Acton and Sacramento streets and two new bike lockers in the plaza, among other improvements.

    The project was funded partly by the transportation agency’s Safe Routes to BART grant program which is supported by BART Measure RR funds, a tax measure approved by voters in 2016. An additional $3.4 million in grants were awarded to the project through the state’s Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities program.

    “As Senator, I am proud that the state supports sustainable transportation projects,” State Sen. Jesse Arreguín, D-Oakland, said in a statement. Arreguín also noted his support for similar projects when he served as Berkeley mayor.

    About 61% of all trips made to the North Berkeley BART Station are done by walking or biking, according to the agency’s 2015 Station Profile Study. The improvements are meant to support those already walking and biking to the station while making those modes of transportation more appealing to others.

    BART Director Barnali Ghosh said he’s “thrilled” to see the project complete.

    “These improvements make it safer and easier for people to walk, bike, and connect to BART. Delivering these community benefits years before the first North Berkeley TOD building opens reflects BART’s strong and lasting commitment to North Berkeley,” Ghosh said in a statement.

    The project is part of a larger overhaul of the North Berkeley BART Station property. Working with the city and a team of housing developers, the transportation agency plans to welcome nearly 750 new homes on about 5.5 acres of land currently being used for station parking.

    North Berkeley Housing Partners, the development team, is made up of three affordable housing nonprofits – BRIDGE Housing, East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation and Insight Housing – and one market-rate housing developer, AvalonBay Communities.

    The new homes will be spread across five buildings that will be developed in phases. Construction was expected to begin in either 2025 or 2026. Half of the new units will be listed as affordable to people making up to 80% of the area median income. That’s about $127,000 annually for a family of four living in Alameda County, according to the state’s 2025 income limits.

    Bound by Delaware, Sacramento, Virginia and Acton streets, the project site will also feature about 60,000 square feet of open space, a diagonal connection to the Ohlone Greenway that cuts through the center of the site and ground floor retail and childcare.

    “The North Berkeley access improvements are just the beginning,” Mayor Adena Ishii said in a statement. “With more than 700 homes approved at North Berkeley BART and a similar number planned at Ashby, we’re showing that Berkeley can build more housing while making it easier for everyone to move safely and sustainably through our community.”

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    Sierra Lopez

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  • Long Island construction jobs fall for 6th straight month | Long Island Business News

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    THE BLUEPRINT:

    • Long Island lost 4,900 from August 2024 to 2025

    • Sixth consecutive month of decline

    • , labor shortages, and zoning issues cited as main factors

    • Nationally, job growth slows with only 177 of 360 metros seeing gains

     

    Construction employment on Long Island saw another year-over-year drop in August, the sixth straight month of decline, according to a new report from the Associated General Contractors of America, blaming the shrinking number of jobs nationally on tariffs and workforce shortages. 

    Nassau and Suffolk counties lost 4,900 construction jobs from August 2024 to August 2025, a 6 percent year-over-year decline, falling from 84,600 to 79,700, the AGCA reports.  

    Regionally, the number of construction jobs in New York City was down 5 percent, losing 7,900 jobs from August 2024 to August 2025, falling from 145,500 to 137,600. New York City’s was the largest of the 360 metro areas in the report.  

    Nationally, construction employment rose in 177 of 360 metro areas between August 2024 and August 2025, while it declined in 125 metro areas and was unchanged in 58 areas, according to AGCA and new government employment data. It’s the fewest number of metro areas adding jobs since 2021. 

    Association officials noted that many private-sector developers appear to be putting projects on hold amid rising prices caused by tariffs, workforce shortages and higher . 

    “Construction employment has stalled or retreated in more and more areas as owners pull back on projects in the face of higher costs,” Ken Simonson, the AGCA’s chief economist, said in a written statement. “Workforce shortages, tariffs and higher interest rates are inflating construction costs and schedules to the point where many projects no longer appear to make sense to developers.” 

    Here on Long Island, industry experts say the biggest obstacle is the lack of multifamily zoning that limits opportunities to build housing, the type of construction that’s in the greatest demand. 

    “We face the same challenges, same material costs, same labor costs, all that stuff that everyone else across the nation faces,” Mike Florio, CEO of the Long Island Builders Institute, told LIBN. There is greater opportunity when you go to the Carolinas and Austin, Texas and Florida and the Southeast, when here there’s not as much opportunity to build. The lack of approvals and permitted jobs is holding Long Island’s economy back.” 

    Nationally, there were 188,000 job openings in construction, seasonally adjusted, at the end of August, according to a government report, that’s a 38 percent decline from a year earlier and the lowest total since 2017. The data suggests even fewer areas are likely to have construction employment increases in the near future, Simonson said. A prolonged federal shutdown could also impact construction employment if public works projects are suspended or fail to get needed approvals to start because federal officials are unavailable to sign off, according to the statement. 

    Metro areas adding the most construction jobs over the last year include the Arlington-Alexandria-Reston, Va. Area, which added 8,200 jobs for a 9 percent increase; followed by the Washington D.C area, which added 6,600 jobs for a 14 percent gain; and the Chicago area gaining 5,400 jobs for a 4 percent rise. 

    Besides New York City, the metro areas seeing the largest drops in construction employment from August 2024 to August 2025 include the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. area which lost 6,500 jobs for a 6 percent drop; the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif. area dropping 6,000 jobs for a 6 percent decline; and the Baton Rouge, La. area, which was down 5,700 jobs in an 11 percent decline. 


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    David Winzelberg

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  • Opponents of new Sacramento housing high-rise project along the American River Parkway file lawsuit

    Opponents of new Sacramento housing high-rise project along the American River Parkway file lawsuit

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    Sacramento Planning and Design Commissioners voted to move forward with a housing project that would bring hundreds of apartment units along the American River Parkway in the city’s River District. However, a recent lawsuit seeks to stop it from being built due to environmental concerns. The American River One project proposes to build four high-rise residential towers with a total of 826 units. The project would be built on two vacant lots on Bercut Drive north of downtown Sacramento. One of the lots was home to the Rusty Duck restaurant, which closed in 2008 and was demolished more than a decade later. Last week, the Save the American River Association filed a lawsuit against the city and the developer, LPA Design Studios. The suit seeks to void the city’s approval of the project until more environmental studies are done, since it was exempted from certain California Environmental Quality Act requirements. The lawyer representing the Save the American River Association, Matthew Chalmers, said the group’s main concerns were about the negative impacts the project could have on plants and wildlife in the area. The project was approved by the urban design director in April and the group appealed the decision, which led to a review of the proposal by the Sacramento Planning and Design Commission. At the meeting Thursday, the commissioners unanimously voted to deny the appeal after hearing from people for and against the housing project. “We now have the pending lawsuit,” Chalmers said. “We’re going to need to go back to our client and have a series of discussions with them about how we want to proceed.”In a statement to KCRA 3, the city of Sacramento said it has received the complaint and is “currently evaluating it to determine the appropriate next steps.”See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app.

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. —

    Sacramento Planning and Design Commissioners voted to move forward with a housing project that would bring hundreds of apartment units along the American River Parkway in the city’s River District.

    However, a recent lawsuit seeks to stop it from being built due to environmental concerns.

    The American River One project proposes to build four high-rise residential towers with a total of 826 units.

    The project would be built on two vacant lots on Bercut Drive north of downtown Sacramento. One of the lots was home to the Rusty Duck restaurant, which closed in 2008 and was demolished more than a decade later.

    Last week, the Save the American River Association filed a lawsuit against the city and the developer, LPA Design Studios.

    The suit seeks to void the city’s approval of the project until more environmental studies are done, since it was exempted from certain California Environmental Quality Act requirements.

    The lawyer representing the Save the American River Association, Matthew Chalmers, said the group’s main concerns were about the negative impacts the project could have on plants and wildlife in the area.

    The project was approved by the urban design director in April and the group appealed the decision, which led to a review of the proposal by the Sacramento Planning and Design Commission.

    At the meeting Thursday, the commissioners unanimously voted to deny the appeal after hearing from people for and against the housing project.

    “We now have the pending lawsuit,” Chalmers said. “We’re going to need to go back to our client and have a series of discussions with them about how we want to proceed.”

    In a statement to KCRA 3, the city of Sacramento said it has received the complaint and is “currently evaluating it to determine the appropriate next steps.”

    See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app.

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  • Gilroy State of the City paints an up and coming city – with some growing pains

    Gilroy State of the City paints an up and coming city – with some growing pains

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    Speaking before a crowd of local residents and regional dignitaries this week, Gilroy Mayor Marie Blankley made the case for a city that is growing, while touching on housing, homelessness, and the need for better infrastructure in her annual State of the City address.

    After detailing her family’s century-long history in Gilroy, Blankley launched into how the city has grown over the previous year, optimistically describing the dozens of businesses that are opening or are on the way. Chief among these was the deal with the San Jose Sharks to bring a sports complex with two National Hockey League-sized ice rinks to Gilroy, with the design coming before the city council next month.

    She also highlighted an upcoming pedestrian plaza in downtown Gourmet Alley, which is currently under construction, as a place to enjoy the burgeoning downtown businesses.

    Despite the hope that coming developments might draw more to the city, she acknowledged the loss of one of the city’s greatest draws, the Gilroy Garlic festival, and the traumatic circumstances that surrounded it — 17 people were shot and three were killed at a mass shooting.

    “Moving forward from the 2019 tragedy has been a painful process,” said Blankley, referencing the deep trauma of the community, especially those who lost loved ones. Though the Garlic Festival Association continues to host smaller events, the festival is unlikely to return in its previous form until several lawsuits that followed the shooting are resolved, she said, noting that the largest of the lawsuits had been dismissed last year.

    Moving forward, Blankley addressed homelessness in the city – which has the second largest homeless population in Santa Clara County after San Jose – highlighting the work of the police officers dedicated to unhoused populations and a coming 75-unit affordable housing complex in helping alleviate those issues.

    Even as housing supply grows, many jobs remain north of Gilroy, said Blankley, meaning that better transport will be essential to the growing city. She celebrated the expansion of bus and train service to the city and previewed road improvements, while admitting that far more is needed. “These are important wins for Gilroy,” she said. “Even though it seems that we’re inching forward, it’s progress. We’re moving in the right direction.”

    Several who attended the address at Gilroy City Hall seemed pleased with its optimistic tone. “It was a very, very positive speech. She gave us a lot of good information,” said resident Ron Kirkisch. “We have some issues, but overall we’re looking good… I think our city’s in pretty good hands.”

    Some, however, disagreed with the depiction of the issues facing Gilroy, arguing that the speech omitted context around issues of housing and homelessness. “I found that there were a lot of half-truths,” said resident Maria Aguilar.

    Blankley acknowledged the disagreements within her city in her speech, but stressed the importance of unity. “Here in our own community of Gilroy, we are family — and not that family doesn’t get angry with each other and want to fight too,” said Blankley. “But if we can just recognize the good and the worth that is in each of us … then I think we can bring that down. We have lots more to do, but we’ve also accomplished a lot together.”

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    Luis Melecio-Zambrano

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