UPDATE: Nassau Exec Chooses Reckson, Wang Team

UNIONDALE, NY-Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi has made it official by choosing the Lighthouse Development Group LLC to redevelop a 77-acre site that surrounds the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which will also be refurbished. The project is expected to cost as much as $1.5 billion.

Lighthouse is a joint venture between Reckson Associates Realty Corp. and Charles Wang, owner of the NY Islanders and NY Dragons which play at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum site. The JV was formed to execute a plan for the redevelopment of the coliseum site.

The JV revised plans previously announced for the Lighthouse included a 60-story structure that would have been the tallest building on Long Island. In addition to the complete makeover of the coliseum, it includes the addition of a 50,000-sf recreation center and a conference center. The partners will jointly develop residential, commercial and retail components of the plan for the area surrounding the venue. Last week, Reckson inked a deal with the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball Clubs Inc. to bring a minor league baseball team to a minor league ballpark in Mitchel Athletic Complex, which is adjacent to the coliseum.

The site is located near the approximately 2.6 million sf of class A office space owned by Reckson. That includes the 1.1-million-sf Reckson Plaza, which the REIT purchased last year for $240 million.

The JV next has to work with county and Hempstead Town officials to finalize the plan. The team was selected after an RFP process. The entire Lighthouse project is expected to take between eight to 10 years to complete.