Eden Blue luxury apartment building with 172 units starts construction in Mineola
A rendering shows the 172-unit Eden Blue in Mineola, set to open in 2028. Credit: Blue Communities
A Mineola developer kicked off construction Wednesday on a $130 million mixed-use development that will bring 172 luxury apartments just a short walk from the village's Long Island Rail Road station.
Blue Communities is building its second apartment complex in the village at Eden Blue, a six-story development at 110 Willis Ave. that replaces a former office building with an ambulatory surgery center and an adjacent parking lot.
The future building will include ground-floor community space, which is expected to be filled by a Village of Mineola Museum and the Mineola Athletic Association. The athletic association runs youth sports leagues and operates baseball fields that will be adjacent to the complex.
Rents at the building are projected to range from $2,695 for a studio apartment to $6,100 for a two-bedroom unit. Most of the apartments will be one-bedrooms ranging from $3,025 to $4,575, according to the developer.
"Every one of the buildings we have, they're all full," said Doron Pergament, founder of Blue Communities. "There's a big need for housing and there's a lot of people who are still looking for housing."
The development, which is awaiting final approval for Nassau County Industrial Development Agency tax incentives, will include 21 income-restricted apartments that will be awarded through a housing lottery.
Eden Blue plans to open to tenants in late 2028.
The new apartments are the latest new housing planned for Mineola, where more than 1,100 rental units have opened since 2010 and approximately 1,000 more are planned, Mineola Mayor Paul Pereira told Newsday earlier this year.
The village has approved new housing at a per-capita rate 15 times greater than the Islandwide rate per capita, the Regional Plan Association reported in March.
On Wednesday, Pereira said the building, with its community spaces, would advance Mineola's downtown revitalization. The developer initially proposed 204 units but removed one floor and 32 units from its plan after the village's board of trustees expressed concerns about the building's height and density, according to village documents.
"The building started out one way and it ended up a different way — both aesthetically and in terms of the number of units, size and mass," Pereira said. "But the most important thing is that it is inclusive of the community."
Amenities are designed to emphasize a focus on wellness and will include a salt cave, cold plunge, steam room and sauna, indoor/outdoor rooftop pool and spa. There will also be a fitness center, golf simulator and rooftop padel court for players of the fast-growing racket sport, according to the developer.
The building will also include space for two restaurants and a rooftop beer garden. It will offer 258 indoor parking spaces for residents and visitors.
Eden Blue is the company's second project in Mineola following the opening last year of Royal Blue, a 54-unit building on Searing Avenue, where initial asking rents ranged from $4,200 a month for a one-bedroom to $7,400 for the priciest two-bedroom unit. Six units in that building were awarded through a housing lottery at discounted rents, Newsday reported.
"We try to really create a community where it's not just renting an apartment," said Julia Krispeal, an associate broker at Douglas Elliman who will handle leasing at the building after serving in the same role at Royal Blue.
Blue Communities has additional apartment complexes in Long Beach, Far Rockaway and Yonkers.
The developer is seeking a $4.4 million sales tax benefit, a roughly $618,000 mortgage recording tax benefit and a 25-year Payment in Lieu of Taxes agreement from the Nassau County IDA, which granted preliminary approval last month but has not finalized the benefit package.
"The model of Mineola will eventually grow in other villages and towns," Pergament said. "The communities have to be behind it."
CORRECTION: Blue Communities is seeking a 25-year payment in lieu of taxes agreement from the Nassau County Industrial Development Agency. The length of the agreement was incorrect in an earlier version of this article.
Jonathan LaMantia covers residential real estate and other business news on Long Island. He previously covered the business of health care for Crain's New York Business.
