The Incorporated Village of Hempstead Community Development Agency (CDA) is a public benefit corporation established in 1964 under Title 16 Section 585 of the Consolidated Laws of the State of New York. Originally known as the Urban Renewal Agency, the name change was mandated by State Law Section 585-a in 1980. The goal of an Urban Renewal Agency was to address problems of urban decay experienced by the State's larger municipalities.
The Community Development Agency's function is to plan and implement programs involving the rehabilitation of both the residential and commercial sectors of the village, foster economic growth, provide assistance to public service organizations, eliminate blight and improve opportunities for low and moderate income citizens.

The 1970's saw the redevelopment of the commercial area bounded on the north by Front St. and on the south by Peninsula Blvd. between Greenwich St and N. Franklin St. A re-alignment of Greenwich St. and Main St. was accomplished, allowing for a smooth flow of traffic into the downtown from points south of the Village. A 250,000 sq. ft. Winston's Department Store was built on the cleared site. It featured innovative roof top parking for its' customers. The national economic downturn of the late 1970's doomed the new store to failure and after changing ownership a couple of times, the facility was shuttered in the 1980's.

Initial efforts undertaken by the Agency in the 1960's involved the removal of substandard housing and the construction of multi-family subsidized and market rate housing in areas surrounding the downtown core. Included in this effort were the Mitchell-Lama apartments on Jackson St. at Washington St. and the Washington Square apartments between Washington St. and Clinton St. south of Jackson St. Commercial redevelopment centered around the construction of a Holiday Inn and seven storey office building on Clinton St. south of Fulton St. The Holiday Inn was recently converted into subsidized apartments for seniors and families.

The 1980's saw the redevelopment of the downtown core, bounded on the south by Front St. and on the north by Fulton St. between N. Franklin St. and Main St. Substandard buildings were removed and modern stores were added. Those included a Waldbaum's Food Store a Chemical Bank and several smaller stores. The construction of the Nassau County District Court assisted in bringing activity to the downtown.

The 1990's brought about the creation of a ten year Comprehensive Master Plan for redevelopment of the Village. Highlights of the plan included the creation of affordable housing for first time homeowners and senior citizens, the adaptive reuse of vacant commercial buildings in the downtown core, and redevelopment of unused or abandoned commercial properties. The CDA assisted in the creation of over 300 units of affordable housing throughout the Village, including 3 senior oriented facilities and 2 affordable townhouse developments along with several single family stand alone affordable homes. Successes in the downtown included the re-development of the former 8 acre Winston's/TSS Department Store Site, and the 20 acre former site of the Abraham & Straus Department Store. Hempstead Village Commons, anchored by Staples and Pep-Boys stores occupies the 8 acres and the HUB Shopping Center, anchored by the Home Depot and Stop n Shop stores occupies the 20 acre site. The 90's brought about a resurgence in commercial activity in the downtown that has set the groundwork for future redevelopment.