Baldwin Redevelopment Site

Request for Proposals Launched for Mixed-Use Development at 107 Grand Avenue, Baldwin, Long Island

The Town of Hempstead’s Department of Planning & Economic Development has launched a request for proposals (RFP) to develop a five-acre assemblage of dilapidating properties located at the northwestern corner of Merrick Road and Grand Avenue, in Baldwin. That’s in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island. The aim is for mixed-use project, consisting of commercial space and residential apartments, according to LI Herald. Public recreational space is also part of the vision. The current stretch of street is made of vacant lots, and a mix of underutilized, vacant, and dilapidating single- and two-story commercial buildings. There appears to be bipartisan support for a mixed-use development this time around after similar attempt to build there failed last decade.

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After Decades, Vacant Lot Finally Filled by Rowhome, at 55-35 Metropolitan Avenue, on Ridgewood/Maspeth Border

City blocks on the fringes between Queens and Brooklyn tend to be densely built out with low-rise, pre-war housing stock, leaving few empty lots for ground-up development. One such lot at 55-35 Metropolitan Avenue, which separates the neighborhoods of Ridgewood to the south and Maspeth to the north, has sat empty for more than half a century. The new rowhouse, developed by Shaoyun Chen, stands three stories tall, its plain cornice rising slightly above its neighbors. Permits list two residential units taking up 2,396 square feet of the 5,643-square-foot structure. A 1,623-square-foot retail space is located at the lower floor. Though the retail space would be the only one of its kind on the wholly-residential block, it is not out of place, given that most buildings on the other side of the street have ground level retail, as well. The building occupies 60 percent of its site, leaving space for a 35-foot yard in the rear.

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