By Angela Marshall
This was the third hearing for F. J. McCarthy's planned seniors apartment building, to be built on Clinton Avenue across from the St. Agnes Cathedral School. After McCarthy faced resistance at the previous hearings from neighbors and school parents because the project didn't meet the village's parking requirements, he contracted to buy a neighboring piece of property and increased the parking.
The additional property, on Park Avenue, was once the site of a hardware store. McCarthy also increased the number of apartments to offset the $600,000 price of the new land.
The plans now call for 32 units, instead of the original 24, and 41 parking spaces. The village code requires 1.5 parking spaces per apartment, which forced McCarthy to get a seven-space variance. He agreed to lease up to seven spaces from a neighboring building.
Some nearby businesses still complained that the area is already overwhelmed with traffic and a lack of parking, and questioned where visitors to the complex would park.
The proposed complex, called Cathedral Gardens, will be mostly two-bedroom apartments, renting for approximately $2,000. The lease will require at least one resident to be over 55 and prohibit any residents younger than 18.
The plans call for two driveways, an entrance and an exit, both on Park Avenue.
McCarthy must still get site-plan approval from the Rockville Centre Planning Board.
The seven-unit condominium would be built at 25 Lenox Road, replacing a large two-family house. The project needed front and sideyard variances, which the zoning board approved. The plans call for a Tudor-style design with stucco and brick facades. Each unit will be a two-bedroom condo with its own two-car garage. The developers plan to list the units for a starting price of $600,000.
A representative of the neighboring apartment complex at 31 Lenox Road is worried that the proposed complex might increase flooding problems, but was assured that the developer would have to provide adequate drainage.
The next Rockville Centre Zoning Board meeting will be held Sept. 3 at 8 p.m. at Village Hall.
