By Joseph Kellard
Rosenberg said that he plans to open the Allegria in January 2009.
The conditions for the zoning board’s approval require Rosenberg to include 25 off-site/off-street parking spaces and a valet parking service, explained Corey Klein, the city’s corporation counsel. The board approved Rosenberg’s proposal to add 19 parking spaces to the site’s existing 61 underground spots, for valet and longer-term parking.
Rosenberg had proposed to rent additional parking spaces at a lot behind the Long Island Rail Road station on Park Avenue, and provide a shuttle service for hotel patrons who park there. “That’s still being discussed,” Klein said. “The zoning board was concerned about whether the developer rents the spaces from the city or from another empty lot in the vicinity. The board wants to make sure that they have additional off-site parking where they can keep the cars.”
Rosenberg said he is still exploring the parking option behind the railroad station, as well as a potential lot between Edwards and Riverside boulevards and the possible purchase of the property at 50 W. Broadway, adjacent to the King David, to build a parking garage.
In August 2007, Rosenberg, who owns the Manhattan-based Alrose Group, purchased the King David property for $21 million, intending to build a “boutique”-style, 153-room luxury hotel with an upscale restaurant, bar and sushi bar. He is touting the Allegria as “the next Garden City Hotel,” and said that to attain a four- or five-star rating he must add the two floors to include a pool and spa.
The King David, which was a home for senior citizens before it closed two years ago, is already zoned for hotel use, so the only variance Rosenberg needed was for the two extra floors.
Former zoning board and City Council member Denis Kelly called the board’s decision arbitrary and capricious. “I think the zoning board should have just denied the entire application outright, let Rosenberg repackage his application and come back to the board so the community could comment on it,” Kelly said.
The 25 additional parking spaces could end up in a residential area, and if Rosenberg decides on the lot at the train station, the community should have a right to comment on that, too, Kelly added. At a March 27 hearing, Kelly charged that Rosenberg was doing incrementally what he would be unable to do if he presented his project as a whole.
“The basic rule is, if you have a non-conforming building and you seek to put on new floors, or you seek to change something that requires a variance,” Kelly said, “then all of your non-conforming issues should come before the board.”
After the board made its decision last week, Rosenberg said he was happy that the city supported the project. “And I’m excited to turn the building into a first-class establishment,” he added, “which is something that Long Beach has been needing for a very long time.”
Comments about this story? JKellard@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 213.
