In his 20 years of owning The Refuge, a restaurant in Melville serving a range of international fare, Jay Grossman has seen a tremendous evolution along Route 110. Now, the eatery could soon get a new neighbor less than half a mile away: The proposed NYU Langone Hospital campus.

With an influx of people heading to the area for the hospital, business could boom. This hospital may be "a win-win for everyone in this area," Grossman said.

The proposed NYU Langone Hospital would span more than 1 million square feet across 1 and 2 Huntington Quadrangle, which the health system bought in May for $135.5 million. The academic medical center would include a research library, emergency department, a roughly 500-bed hospital and ambulatory services. It would be Long Island's first new hospital in more than 40 years.

NYU Langone could turn Melville into a major healthcare and business hub, but the area may not have the housing or transit infrastructure to absorb that growth, experts say.

There is quite a road ahead, as the project is nowhere near shovel-ready: NYU Langone still needs to secure permits from the Town of Huntington and a certificate of need for a new hospital from the state. NYU Langone has not applied for a certificate of need as of last week, a State Department of Health official told Newsday in an email.

"It's going to be a long process, and very public," Town of Huntington Supervisor Edmund Smyth told Newsday in a phone interview, adding that it could take at least five to seven years to plan "a project of this magnitude."

An economic boom

I think it's going to inspire other businesses and companies to come back to Long Island and stay.

— Jay Grossman, owner of The Refuge

Historically, healthcare on Long Island has been a strong sector, and it will only continue to grow as Long Island's population ages, said Richard Murdocco, an adjunct professor of environmental policy and planning at Stony Brook University. New healthcare roles, as well as union construction jobs to see the project through, could be born out of this campus.

"Once open, the academic medical center will bring thousands of permanent jobs to the region," said NYU Langone spokesperson James Iorio in an email. "Construction is expected to create up to 8,000 union-represented construction jobs on Long Island, with an additional 2,500 indirect jobs across the region."

"Construction is expected to create up to

8,000 union-represented construction jobs

on Long Island, with an

additional 2,500 indirect jobs

across the region."

— James Iorio, NYU Langone spokesperson

NYU declined to provide additional details about the number of jobs that will be relocated from its Mineola campus, but Iorio added that the health system will "maintain a strong presence" there. The hospital is not seeking any tax breaks for financial assistance for the project, he added.

In turn, retail in the surrounding area would be greatly supported, said Shaan Khan, president of the Long Island Board of Realtors.

"It's going to help restaurants, and think about all those people coming into work," Khan said. "Route 110 already has a pretty thriving restaurant scene, but what about all the other services people need when they're on their lunch break and running errands?"

That includes places such as dry cleaners, grocery stores, coffee shops and nearby restaurants like The Refuge, experts say.

Having hospital employees exploring eateries in the area opens up opportunities for The Refuge to potentially add delivery options or other meeting spaces within the restaurant, Grossman said.

"I think it's going to inspire other businesses and companies to come back to Long Island and stay," he added.

Craig Weiss, president of the nearby T. Weiss Realty Corp., which owns and manages four buildings around the proposed development, expects to gain even more neighbors. He predicts businesses that serve large hospitals — such as smaller practices, suppliers or other companies — will lease space near the new development, in a boon for the area's office landlords.

Murdocco agrees, noting that satellite offices could move in "to leverage the cachet of being close to the hospital."

"Even outside of the realm of healthcare, which is to be expected, you'll see more services that arise, to service ... everyone who works at the hospital," Murdocco said. "They're going to need places to eat and places to shop."

Economically, the project is bigger than what it would bring to Melville — the financial benefits could stretch Islandwide, said Michael Florio, CEO of the Long Island Builders Institute.

"It's greater than just the healthcare that it's going to bring," he said. "It's an economic development engine that will support additional housing, retail and office space."

Housing pros and cons

Throughout Melville, prospective homebuyers can expect to find a variety of architectural styles, with a trend toward upper middle class, Florio said. But for new residential development, there is not much space to work with, he noted.

The area would benefit most from multifamily housing units, for which there is already a great need across Long Island, Florio said.

Murdocco foresees Melville's NYU Langone employees migrating to the surrounding areas, much like Stony Brook University's professors and healthcare professionals have done around their own school and hospital in communities like Setauket, Old Field and Poquott.

As for renters, the influx of new hospital and construction workers — without additional housing being built — could keep prices high in the area, said Victor Rodriguez, CoStar's senior director of market analytics for the New York Metro region. On Long Island, there were a little over 1,300 apartments under construction as of July 9, according to data from the commercial real estate data platform.

There are a few housing developments in the works, most notably Steel Equities' plan to build 110 condo units and 290 apartments at the northeast corner of Maxess Road and Corporate Center Drive, but that project still needs site plan approval from the Town of Huntington, Newsday reported.

Rodriguez was doubtful new housing construction could meet demand.

"This just really isn't an area that has built much over the past decade," Rodriguez said. "We might be dealing with the same kinds of rent growth [and] the same kinds of low vacancy levels over the next three to four or five years."

Supervisor Smyth was optimistic that local developers would meet the demand for new apartments, in part thanks to the Melville Town Center rezoning. Plus, NYU Langone plans to build housing for students and medical residents, Alec Kimmelman, CEO of NYU Langone Health, previously told Newsday.

A lack of housing is certainly one of Long Island's "major challenges to economic growth and future prosperity," said Stacey Sikes, acting president and CEO of the business group the Long Island Association. But she was optimistic that Long Island developers would meet the expected demand.

Khan added that this kind of development would "definitely" benefit homeowners.

"It's going to have an impact on property values, and you're also adding to housing demand by bringing in more people," he said.

Traffic and transit

Roadways could certainly be busy with the addition of the Melville campus, but experts are not too concerned. The hospital's proximity to the Long Island Expressway should ensure a smooth flow of traffic for emergency services, Murdocco said.

"110 is not a small, winding country lane," he said. "Aside from the stoplights and stop signs, it is layered like an arterial highway, so it's a main thoroughfare. I'm not too concerned about traffic impacts from the hospital."

An area that is lacking transit-wise is direct train access. The closest Long Island Rail Road stations to the proposed location are Pinelawn and Farmingdale. Pinelawn does not offer regular service, while Farmingdale (approximately four miles away) would require a second mode of transportation (such as a bus or car) to access the hospital campus.

As for other options, Long Island's first "bus rapid transit" line would stop outside of the proposed hospital development site — but not until at least 2031. That route would run along Route 110 between Amityville and Huntington running every 7½ or 15 minutes, which could speed up commutes and reduce congestion, Newsday reported.

In the interim, there's minimal public transit options. Suffolk County's Route 1 and Route 12 buses drop passengers off in the area, but both only run every half hour.

But that may not matter to potential hospital workers.

"I don't think access to public transportation or lack thereof will create a problem for anyone to go there," said AAA Northeast spokesman Robert Sinclair.

Overall, Sinclair is optimistic that the hospital will not have too much of an impact on traffic in the area, although he is unsure of how much personnel will be coming to the facility.

"There's already a lot of traffic [on Route 110], but it moves," Sinclair said. "Of course, a hospital is a 24-hour facility and tends to get quieter at night. There would be an impact once it's finished and personnel are trying to get to and from that location."

Local officials could work to mitigate traffic in the area by changing the timing of the traffic light on the back side of 1 Huntington Quadrangle or increasing roadway capacity, Sinclair suggested.

"There's a lot of [sidewalk] land, so conceivably you could widen 110 at the entrance there and have two or three lanes to make the right turn from the northbound Route 110 to get into that facility," he said.

There are "huge parking lots associated with the buildings" currently on the property, he added.

"If they're really thoughtful about how they integrate it into the local roadways, it should have a minimal impact," Sinclair said.

Looking ahead

Long Islanders can expect a lengthy process ahead. Supervisor Smyth noted that there will be "a tremendous amount of public input and planning sessions" ahead of construction.

As the early planning stages unfold, NYU Langone spokesperson Iorio also noted that this phase "will be subject to extensive local and state review and approvals" and "opportunities for public comment."

In the meantime, residents are cautiously optimistic about the hospital bringing new jobs to the area, Long Islanders previously told Newsday. South Huntington resident Cynthia Clark hoped that the new building wouldn't rise beyond the existing Huntington Quadrangle properties' four stories. The height of the development has not been finalized, an NYU official previously told Newsday.

Another resident, Lisa Bloomstein, of Dix Hills, said the project symbolizes a real investment in the community, and is "more than just a new hospital for us."

Florio is optimistic that the hospital could turn Melville into a go-to destination: "This will hopefully transform Melville into the regional hub that we've long thought it could be."

Newsday's Nicholas Grasso contributed to this story.