New York Islanders owner Charles Wang has proposed redeveloping the Nassau Coliseum and its surroundings with the Lighthouse, a 60-story hotel and condo building, along with retail and recreational uses. Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi has supported the proposal as part of his ambitious plan to densify and provide transit service for the Nassau Hub area, generally the area from EAB Plaza in Uniondale to Roosevelt Field Mall.

The 77-acre project involves two phases. The first, reconstruction of the Coliseum to add seating, restaurants and bars and build an athletic club; the second, redeveloping the 70 acre site around the arena with the Lighthouse, a plaza with restaurants, shops, and an amphitheatre, a conference center expansion, and a sports technology center.

While Wang’s project takes a bold step towards a mixed use cultural center, his plans (seen on Newsday’s website) should promote pedestrian friendly designs and easy transit access. It in unclear from the current plans how transit will serve the site, or whether visitors will enjoy walking through large, open plazas between buildings.

Nassau Hub project consultants are narrowing down transit alternatives, and many stakeholders believe that bus rapid transit or light rail will be the preferred circulator mode for central Nassau. How will Wang’s plans promote transit use? Will transit service be in place by the proposed 2009 Coliseum transformation? Will it be in place in eight to ten years for those living and visiting the Lighthouse? If development comes before transit service, the traffic congestion in the area could skyrocket, dampening any economic benefits of the project.

In October, Wang signed a Memorandum of Understanding with County Executive Suozzi that will keep the Islanders on Long Island until 2025, and redevelop the Coliseum area. But details of the financing scheme are still being worked out, and town governments must still approve the project.

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