Earlier this month - way ahead of schedule - Lighthouse Development Group, LLC filed its application for a 150-acre planned development district with Town of Hempstead officials, which will now begin the process of government review, public comment and rezoning for the "Lighthouse Master Plan."

Charles Wang, founder of the Lighthouse project and current owner of the NY Islanders and Dragons, believes the "Lighthouse at Long Island" project will not only be a "catalyst" for creating housing options, generating tax revenues and job opportunities but for attracting businesses into the county and town.

The proposal boasts approximately 5.5 million square feet of new space at the Lighthouse, including one million square feet of office space, including a sports technology center, which will complement RexCorp Plaza and the Omni, approximately 500,000 square feet of retail and multiple housing options available in the site's 2,300 residences.

"We are proud to present this application to the Town of Hempstead, bringing us closer to making this landmark project a reality," Wang said. "The Lighthouse will spark the changes Long Island desperately needs."

A completely transformed Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum - drastically made over from the inside out, various housing products - including next generation and multifamily, office space, complementary retail, conference and exhibition space and Long Island's first ever 5-star hotel makes up the proposed conceptual master plan.

A renovated Nassau Coliseum will hold 17,500 for hockey games, 18,500 for basketball games and 20,000 fans for concerts. The entire Lighthouse project will have acres of open space, like Celebration Plaza, which the team says will be larger than Manhattan's Bryant Park.

Although the filing of this application officially kicks off the approval process, the Lighthouse team has already been thoroughly reviewing existing environmental conditions surrounding the site, like access to public transportation and traffic, which the team said will form the baseline for preparation of a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

The Lighthouse team wants the public to play a key role in identifying the full scope of the study through a public scoping process, expected to begin in early 2008.

"We recognize how important the Lighthouse is to the future of Long Island," Scott Rechler, principal of the Lighthouse Development Group and chairman and CEO of RexCorp, said. "I am pleased with the extensive progress that we have made on design to reflect the highest levels of smart growth planning by creating neighborhoods on a pedestrian scale. Moving forward with discussions with the Town of Hempstead will allow us to address the important transportation and housing objectives outlined by the county and to collectively work together to execute on our vision. Further, we plan on continuing our unprecedented community outreach to ensure that we incorporate the best ideas into the design."

Lighthouse Development Group, LLC is a joint venture between Wang and RexCorp Realty, LLC., owner, manager and developer of commercial real estate. The Lighthouse project is estimated to cost $2 billion and is expected to generate almost $60 million of annual real estate tax revenue.

The Lighthouse team believes the project will provide an expected 16,000 construction jobs, thousands of permanent jobs and many newly created businesses. Overall, team members said, the Lighthouse project will add more than $200 million of incremental revenue over the next 25 years to the county and the state from the renovation of the Coliseum alone and keep the New York Islanders on Long Island for decades to come.

For more information about the project visit www.lighthouseli.com.

Back in June 2000, Wang bought the Islanders Hockey Club as the National Hockey League considered moving the team from Long Island due to its poor facility. In March 2001, the NY Dragons of the Arena Football League played for the first time in the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum after Wang purchased the team to bring a "new entertainment option" to Long Islanders. _

In October 2002, fans returned to the Coliseum as the Islanders reached the playoffs for the first time since the 1994-1995 season. In February 2003, Nassau County was unable to meet its financial commitment to maintain a first-class arena for the Islanders. Wang and Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi crafted a plan to fund renovation through development of the 77-acre Coliseum site.

Then in September 2004, Wang and Suozzi revealed their plans for transforming the Coliseum and revitalizing the surrounding area. They began the year-long public outreach process, meeting and listening to more than 50 community groups on Long Island. The plan was officially dubbed "The Lighthouse at Long Island."

The next month, in October, Wang completed a memorandum of understanding with the county and five months later, he completed a fully negotiated lease with Nassau County, which was subject to county legislators' approval.

In August 2005, the county restarts the process with a Request for Proposal (RFP) to develop the Coliseum site. _That next month, in September, Wang strikes a partnership with Reckson Associates, led by President and CEO Scott Rechler, to join the Lighthouse Development Group. In December, Wang bought the Long Island Marriott, which is seen as a key component of the Lighthouse project. _Then Reckson completes a Memorandum of Understanding with the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball Clubs to bring minor league baseball to Nassau County in March 2006. That same month, the Lighthouse Development Group won the Request for Proposal process. Nassau County selected the group as the designated developer of the Coliseum site.

Then in January 2007 the county and the Lighthouse Development Group executed a Designated Developer Agreement. _Rechler takes Reckson private in order to focus on mixed use developments like this mega project. The new company name becomes RexCorp Realty. _Lighthouse Development Group's joint venture is finalized and includes all properties controlled in the 150-acre Lighthouse project site.

In July 2007, Development Design Group, Inc. and The Spector Group are chosen as the master planning team for the Lighthouse project. Then in September, the Lighthouse Development Group hosts its first meeting of the Lighthouse Steering Committee, an advisory group of Long Island's top business, political and environmental leaders, to provide community feedback and to act as ambassadors for the project. _Earlier this month, on Nov. 14, the Lighthouse Development Group submits the application to the Town of Hempstead.