South Nassau Communities Hospital property rezoned, condos on the way

Last week, the Town of Hempstead approved a rezoning request from South Nassau Communities Hospital, changing the designations of two parcels it owns in southern Oceanside from light manufacturing to residential, paving the way for a development of condominiums in the area.

The hospital has a contract with the developer, the EPH Group. The developer would purchase the land from the hospital once the town approves the development plan.

The EPH Group is a holding company for Timber Ridge Homes, which would do the construction work. Timber Ridge has another condominium complex in Oceanside, the Oceanside Villas.

“Since we’ve already sold in Oceanside with the Oceanside Villas, we understand the pricing points, we understand the market there, we understand what are the drivers of why people want to live there,” said Mark Hamer, a managing partner of Timber Ridge. “So we’re quite confident that we’ll be successful, because we’re offering a little bit of a larger product.”

The two properties owned by the hospital are across the street from each other. One is a lot in the northwestern section of Hargale Court, just south of Mott Street. The other is across Hargale, on the west side of Oceanside Road.

According to Damian Becker, a spokesman for SNCH, the hospital purchased the lots in 2009. There was no plan for them at the time other than to use them for expanded services.

The as-yet unnamed Oceanside development would be modeled after a development that Timber Ridge built in Massapequa, Hamer said. The Seasons at Massapequa is a combination of condos and townhouses.

“The reception and the people that were buying in Massapequa really loved the layout and the way it was put together,” Hamer said. “So that’s why we’re trying to replicate that type of project in Oceanside.” He added, however, that the development in Oceanside would not include townhouses.

According to Dan Autino, vice president of finance for Timber Ridge, the condo development would comprise two-story buildings. The preliminary plan, he said, is for two-bedroom, two-bath, single-story units.

Autino added that the two parcels would have a total of six buildings, with four to 12 units in each building. “One side [of the street] will have 16 units and the other will have 32 units,” he said. “So there will be two buildings on one side and four buildings on the other side.”

Hamer acknowledged that, as with any new development, officials and residents had concerns about the development. But he said that his group is working to address them. “We met with the town, we met with civic associations and others to discuss their concerns,” he said. “We think we’ve mitigated them. And we believe the project is proceeding and will be a benefit and an upgrade to what’s existing there now.”

Traffic is always a big concern, Hamer added. He said that his group had conducted a traffic study of the area that determined that adding the condos would create a minimal amount of new traffic.

Hamer said that his goal is to have all of the preliminary work completed with the Town of Hempstead by this fall, and he hopes to have a model unit constructed by next March.

“We have enough experience, both in the type of product we’re building and in Oceanside because of our success there,” Hamer said, “that we were just trying to continue to offer a product that people in Oceanside want.”