Mini-city proposed for Long Island

In what has been called the first reimagining of Long Island’s landscape since Levittown, a developer is proposing to build a small city on 492 acres. Jerry Wolkoff wants to redevelop the land, formerly part of the Pilgrim State Psychiatric Center, into 9,000 multifamily units, a million square feet of retail, three million square feet of offices, and an aquarium. The site is currently zoned for 492 houses. The total estimated value of the project is $4 billion. In terms of dollar value, that would make it one of the largest new urban projects proposed in the US. The site is located in Brentwood, in the Town of Islip, New York. Wolkoff describes the proposed Heartland Town Square in terms of New Urbanism — a place where cars are not necessary to get around, with an active nightlife, and with a sense of community. “This is the first step in the right direction in doing the type of development that Long Island has been longing for and needing,” Wolkoff was quoted as saying in Newsday. Wolkoff, who has experience building industrial developments, purchased the property from the state for $20.1 million. The project designers have not been publicly reported, according to a Newsday reporter who spoke to New Urban News. The site is close to several stops on a primary Long Island rail line, but it is unclear where a new station would be built or what transit connections would be provided.