COBBLE HILL — The developer of the Long Island College Hospital site is proposing to build student housing in addition to luxury condo towers under a redevelopment plan that would not require community approval.
The developer has presented two proposals to the community, one of which requires zoning changes and would allow Fortis to build significantly more residential units.
Fortis said Monday it is now considering the addition of a 260,000-square-foot student dormitory at Amity and Hicks streets on a parcel of land that would not need to be rezoned for the student housing.
"The site's as-of-right zoning permits community facility space in addition to residential. Student housing, for which there is strong demand, is one of the community facility uses we are exploring," Fortis spokesman James Yolles said Monday morning.
Over the summer, community members were presented with two possible scenarios for the LICH site, both of which would include high-rise towers. One of those plans would involve rezoning the area and would allow the luxury condos. The other could be built "as-of-right," meaning no community input would be required as Fortis would not be seeking any zoining modifications.
On Monday morning, Councilman Brad Lander took to Twitter to oppose the plan. "A mega-dorm is a horrible use for Cobble Hill. No one with the community's best interest at heart would propose it," he said.
Yolles said the original condo proposal also remains on the table.
"[W]e continue to believe our rezoning plan, which would include affordable and senior housing, a new public school and increased park space, is a great alternative for the neighborhood. We look forward to continuing discussions with the community over the coming weeks."
The plan was first reported by Politico New York.
Fortis has been pushing the community to accept the plan that would rezone the area under the Uniform Land Us Review Procedure (ULURP). That proposal would bring more residential development to the site but would situate the bulk of units slightly farther away from the wealthy brownstone neighborhood.
The developer has also committed to building a public school within the land parcel under the rezoning plan.
While the developer presented both plans to the community in May and August, the prospect of student housing was mentioned at neither meeting.
Local residents were angered by the idea of soaring towers in Cobble Hill, arguing that the "out-of-scale" development would overburden the neighborhood.
