By Jason Scheer
The Waldbaum's shopping center, on the corner of Grand Boulevard and Atlantic Avenue, has been approved for expansion by the Town of Hempstead.
Jerry Gilbert is a member of Baldwin Harbor Associates, a group of three families that have owned the shopping center since its founding in 1967. He explained that the group has been working with the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, the owner of Waldbaum's, to expand the property from 69,000 square feet to 81,000. Waldbaum's itself will be enlarged to 45,000 square feet from its current 32,000.
In order to accommodate the change, A&P purchased an abandoned building on Grand Avenue. In addition, the store adjacent to Waldbaum's has been kept vacant for months so that Waldbaum's could expand.
Gilbert said that in addition to expanding the buildings, there would be many other functional and aesthetic improvements. The parking lot will be expanded to accommodate increased parking, new lights will be installed, providing improved visibility and security, and decorative plants will be placed throughout the shopping center.
Gilbert would not comment on the exact cost of the renovations, saying only that it was a "multi-million-dollar" project. The costs will be split between Baldwin Harbor Associates and A&P.
Gilbert is confident that the tremendous investment will be met with commensurate support from the Baldwin community. "That shopping center brings $45 million a year into the Baldwin community, and we're hopeful this will increase that figure by a substantial amount," he said.
Michael Sahn, a member of the law firm representing A&P, said that the expansion would yield a greater shopping experience, as the aisles of Waldbaum's will be widened and the existing departments will be expanded and renovated. "It's going to provide a lot more space within the store," he said. "The aisles [currently] are really narrow, and it's just not conducive to a good shopping experience."
Doug Diana, a member of the Town of Hempstead Board of Zoning Appeals as well as a board member of the Baldwin Chamber of Commerce, said that the renovation of the shopping center will be an asset to the chamber. Now, he said, the chamber can point to the center as an example of tremendous investment in Baldwin and encourage new business to come to the area.
"The Baldwin Chamber of Commerce, over the last five years, has consistently tried to bring businesses to the Baldwin area in order to increase the business trade and the quality of the type of stores that are coming in," he said.
Diana pointed to the new Dunkin' Donuts on Atlantic Avenue and the pending facade improvements on Grand Avenue as examples of the chamber's hard work coming to fruition. The Waldbaum's project will only help to spur further investment in the area, he said. "This is a tremendous shot in the arm to the entire area down there, and the entire business community in Baldwin," he said.
Of course, if businesses are going to continue to invest in Baldwin, Baldwin residents must continue to shop in Baldwin. Gilbert reiterated his confidence in receiving support from the community. "It's human nature," he said. "When there's a big new supermarket, people gravitate toward it."
Gilbert is also confident that residents will be happy with the finished product. "When we finish, I think everyone will be very proud to have it in the neighborhood," he said.
Naturally, the expansion of the shopping center will affect the residents who live near the facility. Ellen Mackler, who lives on Grand Avenue just north of the center, said the architects and developers have done a good job of keeping in contact with the residents. "They have given us plans which we approved, and they seem to be positively in contact with us," she said.
Mackler also said that the developers were willing to listen to residents' concerns and make concessions. She said that she was worried that the lights used in the parking lot would be too bright, but was later informed that to appease the residents, different, less harsh lights would be used.
However, Mackler does have reservations. Her backyard will be adjacent to the new parking lot, and she is worried about, among other things, "the car exhaust ... and the excessive noise."
She said she is neither for nor against the expansion. Instead, she has adopted a wait-and-see attitude. "It's hard to tell for sure [how it will affect us]," Mackler said. "So until it happens, we'll have to wait and find out."
Construction is set to begin in the fall, assuming all zoning issues are approved by the Town of Hempstead.
Comments about this story? JScheer@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 282.
