By: JOSEPH KELLARD
CRG Building, Inc. proposes to build a 56-unit condo complex at Atlantic Avenue and Terrell Avenue, the former home of the Oceanside American Legion Post 1246 that is now owned by Irving Grossman of nearby Grossman's Nursery.
The Malverne-based developer's proposal seeking to rezone the property for condo use went before the town's zoning board Jan. 11. The complex would offer units between 11,090 to 12,055 square-feet, each with two bedrooms, a living room, dining room and kitchen, and priced at approximately $350,000 to $450,000. The proposal includes an 80-space parking lot.
"The marketing is targeted to the older folks in Oceanside who want to sell their homes and stay in the community, and toward the train commuter, since this location is about a quarter of a mile from East Rockaway train station," said Dominic Minerva, counsel for CRG Building.
Driveways for both entering and exiting the complex would be installed at the far west end of Atlantic Avenue and the far north end of Terrell Avenue, Minerva said.
If the board approves CRG's proposal and the developer works out further mandatory procedures with other government entities, Minerva estimates all these additional steps should be finalized by June 2005.
Gary Grossman, co-owner of Grossman's Nursery and the Atlantic-Terrell property, said "We're thinking about building condominiums," but declined to speak further about the proposal.
"In this case you have a derelict site that has been abandoned for more than 10 years and the American Legion Hall for about 20 years," Minerva said about the property in question.
Starting in 1989, Grossman's Nursery had been issued summonses for a number of building code violations, according to Charles Kovit, attorney for the town. Grossman purchased the Atlantic-Terrell property about seven years ago. Regarding the use and condition of these properties, Kovit at a town hall meeting in Nov. 2002 called Grossman "the worst offender in the area." Violations at the Atlantic-Terrell property include allowing outside storage, using the parking lot for storage, and maintaining structures -- such as metal greenhouse frames, wooden shacks and an abandoned office trailer -- on the property without permits.
Minerva expects the condominiums would be "a wonderful improvement for the community," and said CRG Building had a meeting with neighbors of Grossman's property before going before the town board with its proposal.
Mary Jane Vlacancich, an Elm Street resident living behind the property who has long complained to the town about its condition, said she is skeptical about the proposal.
"At this point, I really don't know what to think," she said. "It's going to be better than what's behind me now, but you don't know what's going to happen with traffic problems and overcrowding."
Among CRG Building's most recent developments in the area is a community of houses in Rockville Centre on McGann Avenue (off Lincoln Avenue), including a newly-created cul-de-sac on what was once the location of a single home.
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