By:Beth Wallach
Originally the site of Woolworth's, the store, which is 13,000 square feet, is currently designed for single tenancy. Jeff Taylor, the architect for the proposed project, plans to modify the building's exterior and interior, allowing for a maximum of four retail businesses to occupy the existing space.
As of now, there is an open floor plan with two entrances; the front faces Merrick Road, the rear faces a municipal parking field. When the building is re-outfitted, each of the four proposed stores will have its own front and rear entrance.
New windows will account for a major part of the renovation. They will be changed from small, opaque windows to tall windows of clear glass, up to 10 feet, which will allow visibility into the tenant spaces. Although exterior design changes were submitted to the village for architectural review in October, 2004, there was discussion about the possible addition of awnings, which the architect was amenable to.
The issue of waste that each business will generate garnered the most attention from members of the planning board. Since it is a heavily trafficked area, they were concerned about trash sitting out for long periods of time, and would prefer if garbage was picked up every day. Right now, there is a designated space for waste inside the building, which the board would like to see made larger to accommodate the need of all the stores. In the event that a restaurant goes into one or more of the retail spaces, there is more need for garbage pickup when "wet use" is involved.
Dan Weiner, the property's owner, said his company, Merrick Road Corp., will be responsible for maintaining the roof, structure and, at least for a while, the air conditioning units. But, he thinks it's the responsibility of the tenants to take care of interior maintenance. "They have to keep their house clean," Weiner said. He also said that in his experience most people want to be good neighbors.
As of now, there are no tenants lined up to take occupancy. That is due, in large part, to the condition of the current building, which said Weiner, "looks tired." Before showing the space to prospective tenants, the architect said his game plan was to modernize the building and clean up the facade. There is a basement that runs the full length of the store, but it's yet to be determined exactly how that space will be used since, as it stands now, there is only one point of access. Taylor and Weiner both agreed that future tenants might want to negotiate use of the basement into the terms of their lease.
The planning board was not in a position to make a determination about the project that night, since they were waiting for the Nassau County Planning Commission's recommendation. The applicant agreed to come before the board at a later date to further discuss the issue of garbage removal.
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