HUNTINGTON

Creating A Mix of Uses

New Gerard
Huntington
Heatherwood Communities
2005

The construction of New Gerard in Huntington heralds the first mixed-use building to be built in the village area in decades. Replacing standard strip buildings, the new structure tops 5,000 sqare feet of retail space with an equal amount of residential space, bringing three two-bedroom and one single bedroom apartment to this vibrant, walkable, existing community.

Housing in Huntington is a serious issue, as is the need to preserve remaining open space and to mitigate traffic congestion wherever possible. This project, which creates needed housing for young professionals without developing any new lands, addresses all these needs. The downtown location provides residents all the amenities downtown Huntington has to offer -- shopping, offices, entertainment and public transportation -- within steps of their doors.

Intended to revive the heritage of classic Long Island architecture, the building incorporates walkable streetscapes with old-time streetlights and brick sidewalks. Parking is provided behind the structure, enabling the windows to be brought right to the sidewalk, providing a classic down-town feel.

The project continues work championed by the Main Street Task Force to bring brick walks and classic lighting to much of the village. It also embodies the spirit of the vision produced through Long Island’s first true planning charrette, the Gerard Street Public Workshop, where residents spoke of the need for creative parking solutions and the desire that any new structures reflect the area’s historic village character.

There is universal agreement that projects like New Gerard in Huntington are the way to harmoniously redevelop our downtowns on Long Island while providing needed housing choices.

Go back

This project, estimated at $1.5 million, is located on the southeast corner of Main Street and Woodbine Avenue in Northport. Designed in a traditional style to complement existing village architecture, this building consists of 2 renovated restaurants and 2 retail shops on the first floor, as well as 11 new apartments on the 2 1/2 floors above.

The mixed use development seeks to reintroduce smart growth concepts to Northport’s downtown and requires many zoning changes in the village. Currently, the one story commercial building occupying the site is a weak link in the prominent waterfront elevation that runs along Woodbine Ave. The design for the building calls for the addition of 2.5 stories to correct this, strengthening the view of Northport as seen from the harbor and creating a balanced corridor leading to the heart of the waterside community.

Go back

---

In February 2000, Long Island’s first true community planning charrette demonstrated that an entire community, including children, could work together and within a few days create a comprehensive vision directing and empowering the Town to make significant improvements in the heart of downtown Huntington. The vision called not only for safer, more beautiful streets, but to resolve decades-old issues through consensus-based solutions.

The effort became the largest public planning effort of its kind in the nation and marked the first Long Island project undertaken by a Smart Growth Design Team. The team had a national component, led by walkability expert Dan Burden, and a local component made up of architects, engineers, landscape architects and other professionals who donated their time and expertise to assist this pilot project.

ADLIII architecture played a leading role organizing the local design team and donated significant staff time and energy working with the community and consolidating their designs into a cohesive vision.

Implementation of the vision is a critical, multi-year effort. RMS Engineering and ADLIII Architecture were granted modest contracts to work with Tom Mazzola, Huntington Department of Engineering and Traffic Safety to address details and finalize construction plans for phase-one traffic calming, beautification and pedestrian safety measures. The plans included bicycle lanes, raised crosswalks, planted medians, parking lot improvements and a small roundabout. The Huntington Public Arts initiative has since chosen the roundabout as the site for their first public arts project.

Groundbreaking commenced in October 2002, dramatically improving this downtown street. The challenge before the Town of Huntington now is to work with major local stakeholders to strategize the financing and coordination necessary to realize the more ambitious goals, including increased parking and public space, set by the community in a true public-private partnership. Efforts made by task forces, established in late 2000, laid substantial groundwork for this process.

Before deciding on a development plan, Mark Mediavilla hosted a series of public meetings and met with neighbors and community members to learn their desires and concerns. Through these conversations, Mediavilla discovered a strong desire on the part of the community to bring a sense of place back from a land of strip malls and subdivisions.

What resulted was a ground breaking proposal that steps beyond the subdivisions, shopping centers and strip malls now sprawling across Long Island to offer first town center to be built here in over a century. Orchard Park would be the only mixed-use center to serve the middle and southern parts of the Town of Huntington.

Designed in partnership with architect Richard Heapes of Street Works, the proposal would develop a 35-acre sand lot, which is part of a 102-acre site that has been in the Mediavilla family for four generations. The family would maintain residency, ownership of the entire property and would continue to operate the adjoining Mediavilla Apple Orchard.

Within its 35-acres, roughly the size of Northport’s Main Street, Orchard Park would offer housing, shopping, offices and entertainment, all within easy walking distance of each other. It includes 180 luxury apartments, designed by Mark Humphreys, that mirror the grand manor homes reminiscent of Long Island’s “Gold Coast” era. 95% of these would have one or two bedrooms. The remaining 5% would have three. Rents for most apartments would range from $1,500 - $2,700 a month. Twenty percent would go for $1,200 to $1,600, being set aside as designated affordable housing in accordance with Huntington Town legistation.

The Village Center component includes restaurants, cafes, office space, a community movie theatre, a village green, retail shops and an additional 180 apartments over the stores. Mediavilla looks to attract a mix of local merchants and national chains to this compact, yet complete community.