It was a busy couple of days back in May for Southern Land Co., a Nashville-based developer, that held two grand openings for multi-family developments on Long Island.
Local government and chamber of commerce officials, company executives, including CEO Tim Downey, residents, and prospects hobnobbed at open houses at the Florent, in Garden City, on May 6, and the Carlow Wind Watch, in Hauppauge, on May 7.
Complete with catering and cocktails, flower carts, and an al fresco candy shop, these celebrations were about new buildings and what may be signs of a new era on Long Island.
Long the land of “no” when it comes to multi-family, with zoning preventing projects across the vast majority of Nassau, multi-family may be having its moment.
Some companies, like Southern Land, emboldened by rising prices and what they see as a shortage, are targeting the region’s young professionals and empty nesters for multi-family and resort lifestyles.
“The community aspect is number one. We have extensive programming,” Carlow Property Manager Christian Dellosso said of luxury living, from accommodations and amenities to communities. “It’s not just apartments or somewhere to live. It’s really a lifestyle. We’re creating a community that goes far beyond the architecture. It’s the service our teams do day in and day out.”
Weekly events like Wind down Wednesday bring residents together, along with pool barbecues, tacos and tequila and other get-togethers that seek to create connection in an area famous for privacy.
“There’s a real dedication to the community experience, the resident experience, the programming and services,” Southern Land Co. spokesperson Jenna Lefever said.
Landscaping goes far beyond Long Island lawns, creating a resort feel, rather than the region’s more conventional, residential feel.
“We try to make the property look great year-round,” Lefever added. “Each property flourishes in the springtime. The properties present incredibly well at the height of spring.”
At the grand opening, hopes were high that a residential area would embrace a resort lifestyle, with developers able to navigate Long Island’s zoning labyrinth to build.
“We are incredibly pleased with the performance of these properties,” Lefever said. “These projects have been very successful. We’re very encouraged by what we’ve seen.”
Attendees took in the view at the Florent in Garden City and the Carlo, including Hyatt Regency and the Wind Watch Golf & Country Club, which has more of a Florida feel.
“This is the second highest point on Long Island,” Dellosso said, surveying the view and, very possibly, part of Long Island’s changing present and future. “You wouldn’t believe that views like this exist on Long Island.”
MULTI-FAMILY MAZE
The recently completed Long Island Zoning Atlas found that only 8.5% of zoned land not within environmentally protected areas allows two-family housing, and only 3.6% allows three-family and four-family housing.
“In other words, zoning ordinances prohibit two-family housing across almost 92% of Long Island’s buildable land,” according to the Atlas.
A recent zoning Atlas of Long Island found a scarcity of zoning allowing multi-family housing, one reason the region has so little.
But across Long Island, some multi-family is springing up from the Station Yards in Ronkonkoma to Wyandanch Rising in Wyandanch, typically designed by local builders. Manhattan-based Alpine Residential is building in Westbury and Shoregate went up in Bayshore.
While multi-family is finally getting on the map, Southern Land Co. is also bringing its brand of luxury lifestyle to the region with two 150-unit developments, the Florent in Garden City and Carlow in Hauppauge.
“We are based in Nashville, however, we have a regional office in New York in Rockefeller Center,” Lefever said of setting up local offices, a key step. “We have a growing presence in the Northeast. Our New York office focuses on our multi-family division.”
While many take Long Island’s lack of multi-family as a warning, SLC believes that’s a selling point, creating a lack of supply, despite latent demand.
“There’s opportunity to introduce more options. People want options,” said Florent property manager Elisa Bonavita. “People are in various seasons of their lives and have various needs or wants and desires.”
The company is aware that the region has a reputation for being difficult to develop, with zoning that leaves few locations open for multi-family housing. But they focused on the need, not the obstacles.
“Our leadership team, our acquisition team, recognized that there is a need for quality rental housing options on Long Island,” Lefever said. “The team is aware of what’s going on with the landscape of housing on Long Island.”
She said SLC doesn’t back off because it is difficult to develop in certain regions. “Beyond recognizing a true need, we don’t shy away from areas that have challenges to develop. We don’t shy away from that,” Lefever said, noting the two openings resulted from a mix of waiting and work.
TWICE IS NICE
The Nassau and Suffolk projects add 150 units each, totaling 300, arriving with potentially good timing. Single-family houses have topped a median sales price of $800,000, often exceeding the asking price in what seems like a hot market as interest rates to buy rise.
Southern Land said it cost about $100 million to build the Florent and $60 million to build the Carlow, so they are putting their money where their mouth is.
“These are quality luxury options for an easier life stye, eliminating maintenance, upkeep,” Bonavita said.
Founded in 1986, Southern Land Co. or SLC, is hardly new to the party, focusing on matching housing stock to need. The company has developed projects in nine states, with regional offices in New York City; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Plano, Texas; Denver, Colorado; and Vallejo, California.
“Every property we design, develop, and build is different. There’s no cookie-cutter approach,” Bonavita said, referring to Long Island and other projects. “Each is designed to reflect and complement the community it’s built in. We want to make sure our properties are complementary to the surrounding sub-market and greater city market.”
As of May, SLC’s project pipeline was valued at $3 billion, making it a big player with apparently big plans for Nassau County. A spokesperson said they have been able to build “successful communities in markets that are challenging to enter.” They talk about their “patient, collaborative, and persistent approach.”
“We prefer working with communities and neighbors, not independent of them,” according to the company. “Community collaboration is key to achieving this.”
While they scour the nation for places to develop, the company, “years ago,” determined that Nassau had “been facing a housing shortage.”
That hasn’t improved much, if at all, with recent statistics showing median single-family home prices in May in Nassau going for 100.2 percent of asking price as inventory slipped 4.7% Nassau homes were on the market on average 44 days down more than 20% from 56 days a year ago. All of this, following a pandemic, can set the stage for a change in life and lifestyle.
“Some got a taste of living in suburbia during Covid,” Bonavita said of new tenants. “You have a luxury, sophisticated lifestyle. The apartments are beautiful.”
SLIC picked certain places, as well as sites, on Long Island. The company, for instance, said it found Hauppauge to be “immediately appealing” close to employment centers and transportation hubs.
“These factors are critical when we determine where we want to invest and create new housing options,” the company said.
While companies not based on Long Island can run into walls, SLC assembled a team that includes “many Long Islanders and New Yorkers” and studied “the viability of a luxury apartment community in Hauppauge and affirmed it was the right location” for its first project.
THE LEAP ONTO LONG ISLAND
To many Long Islanders, Hauppauge is the heart of the region’s industrial identity, including the Innovation Park at Hauppauge. Even properties zoned for multi-family, frequently, remain undeveloped. SLC, however, sought to build there, identifying a property at 1721 Motor Parkway.
“The property was available when we were seeking the right location, and it was perfect,” according to the company. “It is the second-highest point on Long Island and boasts incredible views of lush surroundings and the neighboring Wind Watch Golf & Country Club.”
They bought the property in 2018 after it had already been rezoned for150 multifamily units by a previous developer, preventing an elaborate and problematic effort to rezone.
“Once SLC purchased the site, we worked with the Town of Islip for approximately two years to get approval on a revised site plan,” according to the company.
The Carlow Wind Watch, at 1721 Motor Parkway in Hauppauge, held a grand opening in early May as SLC’s first multifamily community in New York. Dellosso said it’s 40% occupied, 60% leased and continuing to fill up as peak season arrives.
It features 150 pet-friendly one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, resort-style amenities, concierge services, a pool and spa and sweeping views adjacent to the Wind Watch Golf & Country Club.
“We have something for everybody, whether they’re downsizing and need a space to serve them well. Or if it’s a young professional looking for a fresh start or a specific lifestyle,” Dellosso said. “It’s a mix. We find because of our offering, we can almost find something for everybody.”
A WALKABLE WORLD
The company also liked Garden City with its walkable downtown area less than 20 miles from midtown Manhattan, good schools, parks and recreational facilities. While the fact that “new apartments had not been introduced in decades” might have made others skittish, they saw that as a selling point.
“We knew we would deliver something quite special that would give Garden City residents a new option,” according to the company.
They bought a parking lot at 555 Stewart Ave. in 2019 that (like the other project) already had been zoned for multi-family, and worked with the Village of Garden City Architectural Design Review Board to get plans approved.
“We had our eye on the sites for years. This has been on our team’s radar for a long time,” Lefever said. “We have all the things that Garden City affords, private police, a good school district. We’re strategically located close to everything, all the major arteries in terms of parkways from New York City and we’re an hour from the Hamptons.”
The Florent, on a 4.5-acre property at 555 Stewart Avenue in Garden City, is that village’s first new multifamily apartment community in decades, according to the company. IT includes 150 luxury one-, two-, and three-bedroom rental residences all near downtown Garden City’s dining and shopping district.
The property, in the center of a walkable neighborhood, offers 19 floor plans, a collection of affordable housing units, and ADA-compliant residences. And it includes a 24-hour concierge, outdoor swimming pool, fitness center, whirlpool, resident lounge spaces and other amenities.
“We are seeing a diverse group. We’re so close to the city, it affords people the opportunity to hop on the LIRR and get to the city,” Bonavita said. “Young professionals, some families, empty nesters. We are seeing some folks who are downsizing. They want to retain their lifestyle from having a big home. This could be a forever place for them.”
Residents walk in and see images dedicated to the local area such as pictures of Old Westbury Gardens as well as a fitness center dedicated to Arthur Ashe with tennis rackets on the wall.
While these two developments mark SLC’s entry into the region, the company already is working on other developments in the region, if not right on Long Island. They have a new project, the Juliettte, slated to open in White Plains in the fall. And they plan to keep seeking to expand here
“We’re looking to grow on Long Island, in New York and throughout the Northeast,” Lefever said. “We’re looking to expand our footprint on Long Island and in New York. The Northeast is great for Southern Land.”
While many residents stay all year long, some have more than one dwelling, spending part of the year up North and part further South, making rentals possibly welcome options. People seeking a resort lifestyle often have multiple residences.
“It’s not about one place. They have the option of multiple places,” Bonavita said. “They may sell their home. This can be a place in New York that they’ll keep, because they have family here.
