GN Plaza complex plans revamped

Andrew Cass

Great Neck Chamber of Commerce President Hooshang Nematzadeh said he has recently kept busy smoothing out the edges of his plan to construct a five-story apartment and commercial complex in the Village of Great Plaza – literally.

Nematzadeh and Manhattan architect Sandor Weiss presented plans for their addition to Great Neck Plaza’s affordable housing initiative with the Grace Avenue building earlier this month at the village’s board of trustees meeting.

While Village of Great Neck Plaza Mayor Jean Celender commended the project during the meeting, she said she was concerned the angles of the building were “a little bit severe” and asked the two to “soften it up a bit.”   

The angles were also a concern for resident Terry Eckstein, who said he found them “very off-putting” at the Aug. 1 meeting. 

“That was just a design that the architect was trying out,” Nematzadeh said of his initial presentation. “We are currently working on two alternative versions to present to the board with softer edges in mind.” 

Nematzadeh said the alternative designs will not remove any of the 45 apartments mentioned in the original proposal, but there could be fewer bedrooms than they originally planned.  

“We are reducing the coverage on the second, third and fourth floors,” Nematzadeh said. “That would reduce the number of bedrooms. For example, a two-bedroom apartment would now be a one bedroom apartment. But, there will still be the same number of apartments (as in the original plan). The softening of the angles would not have any effect on the number of apartments either.” 

Although some apartments will now only be single bedroom, Nematzadeh said there will still be two-bedroom apartments available in the complex. 

At the Aug 1. board meeting, Village of Great Neck Plaza Trustee Gerald Schneiderman said he wanted something that “blends more into the neighborhood,” which Nematzadeh said he is also currently working on. 

“We want to make sure our project fits into the community and I think our new plans will show that,” Nematzadeh said. 

The timetable for the completion of a new set of plans for the building still has to be finished, Nematzadeh said. 

The Great Neck Plaza Board of Trustees will hold meetings next month on Wednesday, Sept. 5 and Wednesday, Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. at Village Hall.

“When the plans become available, we will show them to the board,” he said. “We likely won’t be at the first meeting in September, but hopefully the one after that.” 

The construction of Nematzadeh’s complex on Grace Avenue – along with the nearly completed six-story, 94-unit Lalezarian Properties apartment building at 245-265 Great Neck Road – is being done in conjunction with Great Neck Plaza’s transit-oriented development zoning law.

The Great Neck Plaza Board of Trustees approved the transit-oriented development zoning plan, which is intended to allow new residential development in the village’s business “B” district, last April.

Under the zoning law, residential apartment units are able to occupy the top floor of any commercial building in Great Neck Plaza’s downtown area.

Residents are permitted to park in municipal lots at night, or forego the use of automobiles altogether, by walking to the village’s Long Island Rail Road station.

The goals of the law include increasing the number of residents living in the business district, giving property owners greater flexibility, stimulating economic activity downtown, along with promoting mass-transit oriented development and more affordable housing for retirees and younger adults, Celender said.

Any new projects under the transit-oriented development zoning plan require approval from the board of trustees through a conditional-use permit.

Nematzadeh’s proposed building would be 52-feet high and would have 45 one- and two- bedroom units and 90 parking spaces for residents.

Retail stores would occupy the lower lever and a non-commercial drop-off area would be located in the back with an area on the lower level for commercial deliveries, according to Nematzadeh’s proposal last month.

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