New Queens West developer circling city: Jersey and Westchester projects underway.

With the capture of the development award for the next phase of Queens West, and work underway in New Jersey, Westchester and Long Island, Michael Feigin, development director of Avalon Bay Communities, Inc., says they are "circling" their way into New York City.

"Queens West is our first community in the five boroughs," he said last week, noting that they are also in the running for a residential project down in Battery Park City.

The company, a real estate investment trust headquartered in Alexandria, VA, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange ticker as AVB, is the result of the merger of Avalon Properties and Bay Apartments.

Feigin laughed about being known as a "stick" builder, but noted the Jersey City project, next to their successful Avalon Cove project, is, at 25 stories, a "true high-rise."

Queens West is a 74-acre, $2.3 billion project that when completed will contain 6,300 housing units and four commercial buildings, with a hotel, office space, a conference center and additional retail.

Representatives appointed by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Governor George Pataki and the Port Authority comprise the Board of Directors for the Queens West Development Corp., which is overseeing redevelopment of the property. City Economic Development Corp. President Charles Millard is the Mayor's appointee to the board.

The Avalon Bay buildings at Queens West, awarded after a long Request for Proposals that pitted them in the end against the Macklowe Organization, wilt consist of two high-rise structures on either side of the current City Lights cooperative building, with a HUD-subsidized 75-unit senior housing center of five stories situated next to the East River.

Each of the taller projects will include 30,000 square feet of retail around the base, with 11,000 square feet in the senior center.

"All of our buildings have standard amenity packages, so at a minimum we will have a club room, which is usually like a living room - we have cookies in the comer and drinks, and residents can sit down and read the paper - a fitness area, an aerobics area, a business center with conference rooms, data hook-ups and computer setups," Feigin said.

While neither the architecture or the mix of apartments is set, Feigin said the company's demographics historically don't attract a lot of families because of the nature of the buildings. "We don't usually have a children's play area, but this may be different," he added.

At other lower density projects like the 227-unit Avalon Willow in Mamaroneck, NY near the train station, are three-story townhome-like buildings. In Mamaroneck, York Hunter Construction and the developers recently held a topping out ceremony attended by Mayor Joseph Lanza and other community leaders to mark the completion of the superstructure on the first phase of the three-building complex.

The interior, landscaped courtyard features an outdoor swimming poll and barbecue area for residents. Renters of the one- and two-bedroom units may also opt for a loft or fireplace. There are squash courts, exercise rooms and community rooms, along with conference centers.

"Everything we do is luxury rentals," Feigin noted.

Their 110-unit job in Bronxville is also right next to the train station, and they will be starting construction soon.

The topping out ceremony at the Jersey City high-rise, the Tower at Avalon Bay, will be held on August 14th. That is a 25-story, 269-unit building with one- to three-bedroom units next to their successful Avalon Cove project.

In New Rochelle, the eventual 1,000-unit development sits on an urban renewal plot on Huguenot Avenue, next to the train station, Trinity Church and the Chase Building, and is a short walk to the entertainment retail redevelopment underway at the site of the former New Rochelle Mall.

The first phase of the New Rochelle job will consist of 408 apartment homes with a free-standing, six-story garage next door.

Avalon also has acquisitions in Long Beach and on the West Coast, where they are rehabbing old high-rises.

Once the ground lease is completely negotiated at Queens West, Avalon, which usually acts as its own builder and manager, will hire a construction manager to oversee the work.

"They will be at risk and we'll be guaranteed a maximum price for the work," Feigin said. Although no one is yet hired, he said they have existing relationships with several prominent construction firms, including York/Hunter, which is working for them in Mamaroneck and in Jersey City, and Lehrer McGovern, which is working on the Bronxville project.

Meanwhile, they are waiting for a decision on site 19A at Battery Park City, just south of new projects currently under construction by Related and Rockrose, with the knowledge that the city's top developers will be vying for a chance at this Manhattan high-rise site.

"We're not just stick built. We're not a combustible company anymore," Feigin happily asserted.

The company owns 146 communities totalling 42,100 apartment homes in 29 markets. Of those, 15 are under construction and 24 are under reconstruction. They also own future development rights for 20 communities.