Hearing Date Set for Waterfront Apartments

Hold that Date
Tuesday, July 18, 7:30 P.M.
North Hempstead Town Hall
220 Plandome Road
Manhasset

A zoning hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, July 18, at 7:30 p.m. at North Hempstead Town Hall for an apartment building with 60 condominium units on the Glenwood Landing Waterfront immediately south of the Glenwood Landing Power Plant.

The applicant, Glen Harbor Partners of Locust Valley, has requested a change in zone from industrial use to multi-family residential use. The building would be constructed on a parcel of about 4 acres, including two town-owned lots and private land that was once the home of Harbor Fuel. A 1.24-acre parcel on the west side of Shore Road also is part of the development.

The rendering above, from the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) filed in May by Glen Harbor Partners, shows a view of the proposed building looking east from Hempstead Harbor. The site plan calls for a 5-story (including a ground-level parking garage), 57,000-square-foot building that is about 50 feet high and covers about 33% of the 4-acre parcel. Under the multiple residence zone requested in the application, 35% coverage, 24 units per acre, and three stories are permitted.

Soil would be brought in to increase the elevation of a portion of the property, as well as the overall height of the building, thus ensuring that the first floor of the building would be within federal flood plain guidelines. There would be a public waterfront esplanade with southern and northern access points. An environmental clean up would be funded by the developer. The use of the eastern parcel is undecided and appears to depend upon a number of variables, including whether a sewer line to Glen Cove is feasible.

At a hearing on April 28, 2005, Charles Voorhis, an engineer with Nelson, Pope & Voorhis, the firm representing Glen Harbor Partners, told the North Hempstead Town Board that there would be two one-bedroom units, 36 two-bedroom units, and 22 three-bedroom units. He also said the public esplanade would be 10 feet wide and that the lot on the east side of Shore Road would be donated to the town for use as open space. Mr. Voorhis said the height of the building is 45 feet and that this conforms to the height requirement of the requested zone.

Two variances needed

Artist rendering of the north wing of the proposed condominium building looking south from Shore Road, from the EIS.

If the rezoning request is approved, two variances will be needed to accommodate the number of stories in the building and the parking garage. Several years ago, when Glen Harbor Partners originally approached community groups about the possibility of developing the site, a 40-unit building, presumably lower and with a smaller footprint, was discussed. Glen Harbor Partners no longer appears to believe that the smaller-scale project is economically viable.

The view from Rams Hill

The rendering above, excerpted from the EIS, shows the proposed building looking east from Hempstead Harbor with existing homes on Rams Hill in the background. According to the EIS, the harbor would probably be visible from the second floors of the homes on Rams Hill.

The EIS is available on line at the Town of North Hempstead web site and in person at the Gold Coast Public Library (see EIS for GWL Waterfront Apartments Available at Gold Coast Library, May 27; North Hempstead Accepts Environmental Impact Statement for Waterfront Apartments in Glenwood Landing, May 25).