Hearing continued on proposed 200‑unit Willis Avenue development; board declares itself lead agency

The Village Board continued the public hearing on a proposed mixed‑use residential building at 110 Willis Avenue after the applicant presented revised architectural plans, an expanded environmental assessment, and traffic and parking updates.

Representing the applicant, Jack Martins of Harris Beach and principal Doron Pergamon described a reworked design that reduces the project’s height by roughly one floor and replaces large aluminum facades with brick veneer and a mansard element to “scale down” the building’s visual profile. Martins said the revised plan lowers the previously proposed height from roughly 69 feet to about 59–60 feet and reduces the total unit count from the earlier 204 to 200 units. He said the revised mix is 54 studios, 128 one‑bedrooms and 18 two‑bedrooms.

The developer proposes ground‑floor retail, resident parking accessed from Willis Avenue, and 377 parking spaces in all, roughly 1.5 parking spaces per unit consistent with the village downtown overlay. The filing also calls for deeded office and support space for the Mineola Athletic Association (MAA) within the building, public restrooms serving the ball fields, and a proposed easement to allow the village to use an additional 29 parking spaces behind the building to supplement existing park parking.

Traffic engineer Aaron MacTay of VHB presented an updated memo (Appendix G) and said the study incorporated observed, on‑the‑ground counts from nearby sites (Morton Park and Third Avenue) and that the engineering team used conservative trip‑generation assumptions. MacTay told the board that the real‑world counts were higher than generic IT data used in some studies (he cited 1.5× AM and 2× PM at comparison sites), which in his view made the study conservative; even so, the firm did not identify significant traffic impacts attributable to the development. Several trustees and residents questioned that finding and expressed concern about the intersection of First Street and Willis Avenue during Little League events.

Board members and public commenters discussed the building’s relationship to the adjacent ball fields: the applicant described a breezeway and pedestrian colonnade linking Willis Avenue to the fields, on‑site concessions and storage planned in coordination with the MAA, and upgrades to bleachers and restrooms. MAA representatives said they are working with the developer and provided a “wish list” of improvements; the developer said the parties will continue to coordinate and the village would receive certain MAA office spaces by deed.

On procedural matters the board voted to declare itself lead agency for environmental review (motion by Deputy Mayor Sartorius; second Trustee Soloski) and then voted to continue the hearing to the board’s October meeting so the village can receive an outstanding water‑and‑sewer capacity report and allow time to formalize agreements with the MAA about concessions and field facilities. The board did not vote on site plan or special‑permit approvals at this meeting.

The developer said construction would be reinforced‑concrete and steel and that it expects the building to move forward promptly if approvals and financing proceed; he also noted comparable recent downtown projects (Royal Blue) leased briskly after opening. Trustees emphasized that the board expects finished construction drawings, a finalized water/sewer capacity analysis, and concrete agreements with the MAA before any final approvals.