BZA gives Island Park King Kullen the OK

John Vitale, owner of the parcel of land at the southern tip of Barnum Island, has cleared one of the last hurdles and will soon be able to start construction on the proposed King Kullen for the area.

That hurdle was a zoning variance application submitted to the Town of Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals. Vitale’s company, Barnum Land Development LLC, requested a variance for fewer parking spaces — 22 fewer than the required 287 for a building the sized proposed.

In early September, Vitale received a letter in the mail from the BZA saying that his request was approved. With the approval, Vitale is nearly ready to begin construction on the shopping center, which will include the King Kullen and nine other stores.

“The next step is the reality of finding some tenants,” Vitale said. “I’m in the process of signing on a real estate brokerage agreement. And then we’re going to go out to the market and try to get a real good tenant mix.”

Vitale has been met with some local opposition to the project ever since it was announced. A handful of residents attended the BZA meeting to protest Vitale’s parking variance, saying that parking was already an issue in the area because of the clubs in the area — Paddy McGee’s, Coyote Grill, Warehouse 5 and others, all of which are owned by Vitale — take up all the spaces. Residents were concerned that adding a shopping center would take away already limited spaces and push traffic onto residential streets.

But Vitale assured residents, saying that the shopping center would actually add parking, as well as make the area — which is currently a dirt and grass lot — more appealing by paving it over and adding lighting.

The next step for Vitale is to secure building permits. He believes construction could start by spring of 2011. And he’s already had people approach him about renting retail space. “There’s certainly interest [in the stores],” he said. “Nobody I’m going to go public with. But we’ve gotten plenty of inquiries just on people hearing about it.”

Despite the protestations and concerns of some residents, Vitale feels that the project is nothing but positive.

“This project is going to be such a great boon for Island Park,” the developer said. “It’s not something that should have been fought. People sometimes fear change, but many changes turn out to be for the best. And I’m sure this is one of them.”

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