Renaissance Downtowns president Ryan Porter posted a response online Saturday to people in the community who objected to changes in plans for the number and style of apartments that would be built in the Gateway Plaza mixed-use development.
“We have been keenly aware of the concerns raised by community members over the last couple of weeks about the Gateway Project,” Porter wrote. “While we don’t necessarily agree with the assumptions being made regarding two bedroom units of this size and nature we clearly hear the community concerns. We are regretful that our transparency with the community over the last 6 years did not come through in this instance.”
Original plans called for 33 studio apartments and 33 one-bedroom units. Last week, the configuration was changed to 45 one-bedroom, 11 studio and 10 two-bedroom apartments.
Several activists complained that Renaissance had pulled a bait-and-switch by changing the apartment mix.
Porter said further information about the Gateway project would be forthcoming soon.
He told Newsday last week that when leasing began on Northridge, another Renaissance project in Huntington Station, “the broker got a lot of requests for two-bedrooms.” The acknowledgement that the apartment configuration could change came shortly after the Town Board agreed to transfer 1000 New York Ave. to Renaissance Downtowns, as part of a 2011 agreement to revitalize the hamlet. Town officials joined Renaissance officers at the ribbon cutting for the Northridge development on Monday.
“With each success comes positive momentum, yet the economic challenges of investing in Huntington Station still exist,” Porter wrote. “We welcome stakeholders to work with us and garner an understanding of real estate financing, permitting, and how projects evolve from visions to reality.”