The Village of Mineola has approved a new luxury apartment complex that brings additional transit-oriented housing to its downtown. Partner Jack Martins of our Long Island office provides counsel to the developer, and helped guide the project, known as The Royal Blue, to completion.  Working with the design and development team, the application was presented and approved by the Village Board in one meeting. The Royal Blue is a $45 million project that will include 54 units — 46 one-bedroom and eight two-bedroom — located about a quarter-mile from Mineola’s Long Island Rail Road Station. The development was the subject of an article in this week’s Long Island Business News.

Relying on the Village’s overlay zone, the Village Board considers site plan, variances, and architectural review avoiding the need for multiple hearings before multiple boards. While meeting all requirements for each of these approvals, the streamlined process allows for  a quicker decision –  a win-win for all – while allowing the Board the flexibility to meet the communities needs in a comprehensive way. Jack, co-leader of our Real Estate Developers group, was Mayor of Mineola when the village first developed the overlay zone.

The apartments are part of a continuing trend toward “transit-oriented development” in Long Island towns and villages that provide residents easy access to LIRR stations. Jack and other attorneys in our Long Island office have assisted clients in securing approvals for numerous other transit oriented development projects across Nassau and Suffolk counties.