By Angela Marshall
But before anyone can move into the proposed four-story building, McCarthy will need a parking variance for 12 spots from the Rockville Centre Zoning Board of Appeals. Plans only allow for 24 of the 36 parking spaces required by the village. One and a half spaces are required for each apartment.
The Zoning Board began hearing McCarthy's case last Wednesday. The Nassau County Planning Commission has already called for the project to be scaled back to 18 apartments from the 24 that are planned, reducing the needed parking to 27 spaces. In order to overrule the Planning Commission, four of the five Zoning Board members would have to approve of the project.
Neighbors and some parents of St. Agnes students would like to see the project held to the parking requirements, saying the area is already congested enough. They are worried that apartment residents, who must move their cars from the village's overnight lots at 7:30 a.m., will park on Clinton Avenue, making the morning drop-off more difficult. The East side of Clinton, which faces the apartment building, is a no-parking zone on that block. Joe Noll, owner of Macken Mortuary, said parking on the block is horrendous.
McCarthy designed the building so that the entrance and exit of the parking lot would be on Park Avenue instead of Clinton. The property currently comprises two residential plots with houses on Clinton and an empty lot on Park.
Attorney Alan Stein, who represented McCarthy, said the apartments would attract empty-nesters looking to downsize and young people. He said it is close enough for renters to walk to the train station, two blocks away, and eliminate the need for the proverbial station car. A traffic expert was also brought in to discuss the parking characteristics of the immediate neighborhood, pointing out the three municipal lots with overnight parking within 300 feet and saying that the building would not have a negative impact on the neighborhood.
McCarthy said the project would not be financially viable at fewer than 24 units. He looked at the costs and potential return possible with a 24- or 16-unit complex, which would meet the village's parking requirements. The cost of the land ($800,000), demolition of the existing homes ($50,000) and site improvements ($200,000) are fixed costs no matter how many apartments McCarthy builds. He estimates that the cost of developing the larger complex would be about $4,860,000 and yield a 6.4 percent return on his investment. The smaller complex would cost about $3,810,000 and yield a 3 percent return.
When the potential impact the apartments might have on the school district was raised, McCarthy said he would not be opposed to returning to the original idea of senior housing, but no decision was made Wednesday night.
The hearing will continue on Wednesday, May 7 at the Rockville Centre Village Hall, 1 College Place.
