Vision L.I. honors Valley Stream developer, village

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Vision Long Island, an economic development advocacy agency, awarded the Village of Valley Stream and the New York City-based developer Kay Development Group its 2019 Smart Growth Award for mixed use at the organization’s annual luncheon on June 14.

The award recognized the village’s multi-million dollar purchase and renovation of its courthouse at 195 Rockaway Ave., as well as Kay’s six-story, 43-unit Promenade apartment building still under construction on North Central Avenue.

Vision Long Island cited the projects as the types of development it believes are crucial to the revitalization of downtowns across Long Island, as well as increasing the density, and by extension, economic viability of communities in the area.

The Promenade is slated to be a mixed-use building, with the first two floors serving as commercial and retail space. Valley Stream resident and Kay principal and founder Vassilios Kefalas, purchased the property after a fire had damaged the previous building on the lot.

In 2014, the village changed the zoning on the plot to allow for residential use, paving the way for the project. It is scheduled for completion in the coming months.

“This type of street/building interface . . . is a candidate to be the model for the future urban development in the region,” Vision Long Island said in a statement.

In 1936, the building at 195 Rockaway Ave. served as Valley Stream’s original Village Hall, after it had leased and later purchased the property from the Bank of Valley Stream. After, it served in a variety of capacities until the village purchased it again in 2011 for $880,000.

It poured $3 million in renovations over roughly seven years, replacing nearly every portion of its interior. Vision Long Island praised the project for stimulating foot traffic as well as re-establishing a municipal presence in the heart of Valley Stream’s downtown on Rockaway Avenue.