Westbury TOD Enters Review as MTA’s First on Long Island

USA: The Westbury TOD, MTA’s first transit-oriented development on Long Island, is under village review, with Gotham proposing a $100 million, 184-apartment mixed-use project beside the Long Island Rail Road station.

Gotham Organization plans a five-story building on 1.92 acres of a closed MTA-owned surface parking lot on Railroad Avenue. The proposal combines 184 apartments with 15,000 square feet of ground-level retail space, 254 on-site parking spaces and a public plaza. Ten percent of the apartments would be income-restricted and offered at reduced rents.

A 99-year ground lease ties development to MTA property

The project is structured around a 99-year ground lease with the MTA. Under the proposed terms in the current plan, Gotham would pay $2.25 million during construction, a $500,000 capital transaction payment and base rent starting at $500,000, with the base rent increasing 12.5% every five years.

That structure follows the model the authority set out when it first marketed the site. In MTA’s 2020 Westbury TOD solicitation, the agency said a 99-year ground lease had the potential to raise millions of dollars over its term and described the development as a long-term revenue source for the MTA.

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Westbury fits MTA’s broader TOD strategy

The MTA now places transit-oriented development within its long-term sustainability planning. Its 20-Year Needs Assessment calls for partnerships with local and county governments to support construction around transit stops, particularly affordable housing, while improving nearby access for buses, bicycles, pedestrians and micromobility.

Westbury’s proposal applies the housing-and-station-land model to an LIRR property that became available after parking was reorganized. The MTA completed a $23 million, 683-space garage on the north side of Westbury station in August 2021, freeing the former south-side surface lot for development.

The village had already created a denser downtown zoning district in December 2019 covering about 50 acres around the LIRR station. Gotham’s plan would add housing and retail on the railway-owned parcel while retaining the site within a long-term MTA lease arrangement.

Village approval remains the next step

The project is still proposed and remains subject to Village of Westbury approval. The village’s official hearing notice scheduled an August 6 public hearing on GO Westbury LLC’s application for the 184-unit mixed-use building on Railroad Avenue.

The canonical project account said the hearing was likely to continue to September 3 before the village board could vote. If village approval is granted, the development is expected to take about 20 months to complete.