Mill Creek Residential has completed vertical construction on its seven-story, 275-apartment building in downtown Mineola and launched online leasing in preparation for a planned August move-in date, the company announced last week.
Now, Mill Creek will focus on completing the façade, interior and streetscape improvements, Mill Creek Vice President Jamie Stover said.
Construction on the building, also known as the Modera Mineola, began last year as one of two large apartment complexes okayed by the village in an attempt to revitalize Mineola’s downtown.
“What began in 2008 as an idea to revitalize Mineola’s downtown by building residential opportunities is now complete,” Mineola Mayor Scott Strauss said in a statement. “Modera Mineola’s completion may mark the end of its construction phase, but it marks just the beginning of Mineola’s bright future revitalization.”
The village has centralized development in its downtown to areas near the Long Island Rail Road station in Mineola. The Modera is located at the intersection of Willis Avenue and Old Country Road, while the other building under construction, from developer Lalezarian Properties, is at Old Country Road and Third Avenue.
Both buildings plan to offer a number of amenities and market themselves as luxury housing. Modera Mineola has plans to include a parking garage, top-rate fitness club, a resort-style pool and sundeck, a clubroom and business center, among other things.
Rent for market-rate apartments at Modera start at just over $2,000 for a studio and go up to $3,400 for the highest-priced two-bedroom apartments, according to Mill Creek’s website.
Kevin Lalezarian, a principal at Lalezarian Properties, has said rent for apartments at his building would be in the same ballpark.
The developers seem confident that demand for the housing exists, especially among young professionals and empty nesters. Stover said Mill Creek has already received more than 1,300 inquiries about apartments at Modera Mineola, adding that the company “anticipate[s] a very strong pre-leasing period through the summer.”
“Historically, there has not been a significant amount of apartment development in Nassau County, but we know that working professionals, singles and empty nesters have been waiting a long time for new, luxury rental options,” Russell Tepper, Mill Creek’s Northeast senior managing director, said in a statement.
Each apartment at Modera Mineola will include wood-plank style flooring, stainless steal appliances, walk-in closets, movable islands and washer and dryers, according to Mill Creek. Some apartments will also include balconies, dens and lofts.
“Today’s renter wants to live a convenient lifestyle with multi-modal options to places of work and play, but her or she also wants to be able to retreat to a modern and comfortable home,” Stover said in a statement.
Mill Creek Residential, a national management and development company, operates nearly 13,000 residences in markets such as Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Southern California, Texas, Florida, Washington, D.C., New Jersey and Boston, according to a press release from the company.
The rapid development of downtown Mineola also has its detractors.
At hearings on a third building proposed for Second Street, residents have said the scale of the development takes away from the village’s small-town field.
And school officials have taken issue with the tax breaks, in the form of payments in lieu of taxes, granted to the projects by the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency.
The PILOTs do not generate revenue additional revenue for taxing jurisdictions, which the Mineola School District worries could hamper its ability to accommodate an influx of students without program cuts.
