Is there a doctor in the house?

It’s been a busy year for proposed development and construction in Lynbrook, with large-scale projects potentially on the horizon and work moving forward on a Zwanger-Peseri radiology practice on Sunrise Highway. Last week, another proposal was presented to the public and village board that would bring in medical offices to the current site of Long Island American Water on Sunrise Highway.

Simone Healthcare Development has reached an agreement to purchase the property and build a 9,000 sq. ft. addition to the western portion of the building. The only obstacle left to tackle for Simone is to get a piece of the property rezoned.

As it stands now, a small portion of the property is zoned residential, yet is surrounded by the commercial property of LIAW and Atria Lynbrook, a senior living center on Peninsula Boulevard. Jack Libert, special counsel to the board, said the property is “somewhat of an anomaly because everything around it is commercial.”

In order for Simone to move forward with its plans, the board would have to rezone the area to commercial. Before that happens, the Nassau County Planning Commission would review the proposal and make a recommendation.

Attorneys Michael Faltischek and David Leno led the presentation along with Guy Liebler, president of Simone Healthcare Development, and Brian Newman, an architect from Newman Design.

According to Leno, the proposed development would renovate the existing three-story LIAW building and add a three-story addition on its western side, which currently serves as a parking area for LIAW employees. Leno said the rezoning issue was never addressed because LIAW was a public utility company and the property was grandfathered in. “It’s our intentions to submit a petition to this board to allow for a change of zone of the entire parcel as commercial,” Leno said.