Two five-story buildings holding 155 apartment units have been proposed for the strip of Jericho Turnpike between South Tyson Avenue and Van Buren Avenue, where Stella’s restaurant in Floral Park served customers for 60 years.
The larger of the two buildings is proposed to take over the entire stretch between South Tyson Avenue and Van Siclen Avenue on Jericho Turnpike, where Stella’s old storefront stands. Plans indicate it would house 119 apartment units and two commercial storefronts on the ground level.
If approved, it would result in the demolition of the current storefronts between those two avenues, according to the Floral Park Building Department.
Stella’s closed last year. However, a handful of businesses that are still operating between South Tyson Avenue and Van Siclen Avenue, like Superhero Comics, Cleopatra Gallery and Floral Park Fitness Studio, as well as apartments with tenants above those stores, would be affected.
It will take months, likely over a year, for the project to move through the entire application process, obtain approval and begin demolition work. The entire stretch of property is owned by a single entity, which manages the leases of all commercial and residential tenants on the block. That owner would be responsible for informing them of any changes to their leases if the project receives approval and develops a construction timeline.
The second, smaller building is proposed to stand in Stella’s old overflow parking lot, which sits behind the strip of commercial businesses like Gibraltar Collisions, DQDS Dance Academy and El Nopal between Van Siclen Avenue and Van Buren Avenue. Plans indicate it would house 39 units.
No demolition would be needed for the creation of this building as it is an empty lot.
Across the two buildings, there are eight studio apartments, 116 one-bedroom apartments and 31 two-bedroom units.
The proposal submitted indicates a total of 244 parking spaces would be created and designated for the apartments, 188 for the larger building, and 56 for the smaller building.
244 spaces for 150 units works out to about 1.5 spaces per unit, under the typically required two spaces per unit in the area.
It is not uncommon to have 1.5 parking spaces per unit for apartment buildings in this part of Nassau. A few villages east, in Mineola, the section of the village zoned for apartment development requires 1.5 spaces per apartment unit, and the village says it has not experienced issues with parking overflowing from new buildings.
The proposed parking would be a combination of on-grade and underground parking. Underground parking requires special approval from the village.
A public hearing will be held at 8 p.m. on Dec. 2, at the village hall, where the developer will seek special approval for that underground parking. This is the first of a series of public hearings and approvals the project will require.
The proposal fits into the village’s application for a New York Forward grant. The state awards a $4.5 million grant to one Long Island community each year to support efforts to revitalize downtowns. A handful of small municipalities receive the grant each year across New York.
Deputy Mayor Lynn Pombonyo said the Jericho Turnpike entrance to the village, down through Tulip and South Tyson avenues toward the LIRR station, is the triangle-esque portion of the village targeted for revitalization and beautification in the village’s grant application.
She and Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald said the area is in need of revitalization, noting there are five to seven empty storefronts on that part of Jericho. The grant would provide funding for updated signage, plantings, lighting, pedestrian safety improvements and general beautification in the area, which the two believe will attract more people and businesses.
Fitzgerald said he believes the apartment project at the Stella’s property, combined with the New York Forward grant, would give the village a major facelift and create a more significant division and a more established sense of place when people cross into Long Island from Queens.
“There are a decent amount of empty buildings and a few empty storefronts,” Fitzgerald said of the area. “It definitely could use a makeover, and if it was intertwined with a residential developmentthat could be there, it would be a tremendous enhancement to the village.”
“This is for the west part of Floral Park, where you first enter the village. This [New York Forward grant] would enhance the aesthetics of Jericho Turnpike,” he continued. “It is especially important, as this is the entrance to the village and Nassau County as a whole from the city line.”
Floral Park applied for the grant last year and was a finalist, but the Village of Farmingdale won Long Island’s grant. Mineola won in 2024.
The application is due in mid-November, and a decision from the state is likely to come in early 2026.
