Lalezarian Developers sweetened its prospective agreement with the Mineola Village Board by $330,000 in amenities for construction of a rental apartment complex at 250 Old Country Road on the eve of a public hearing on the project set for Wednesday this week.
In an Aug. 1 letter sent by Kevin Walsh, the attorney representing Lalezarian, Walsh said his client was willing to increase cash payments to the village from $2.5 million to $2.83 million based on a payment of $10,000 for each market unit in the proposed apartment complex.
In a copy of the letter obtained by the Williston Times under the Freedom of Information Act, Walsh proposed a payment schedule for the $2.83 million of 20 percent when the building permit for project is secured, 20 percent when the certificate of occupancy for the final unit in the apartment building is approved, 20 percent on the first anniversary of the certificate of occupancy for the final unit and 20 percent on the two following anniversaries.
Walsh said in his letter that Lalezarian has significantly modified the plans for the apartment complex, which were roundly criticized by Mineola Mayor Scott Strauss and other village trustees at a May 23 presentation of the plans for 250 Old Country Road.
“We greatly reduced unit count, we changed the style and architecture of the building and we have brought the parking ratio to be consistent with your zoning requirements,” Walsh wrote. “These modifications have come with a heavy cost to the applicants. It is not simply that the yield has been reduced, there is also increased construction costs associated with the design of this building.”
The plans presented on May 23 showed a complex that would have 345 apartment units, including 19 studio units, 156 one-bedroom units and 170 two-bedroom units. The revised proposal, which was submitted June 22, shows 315 units, including 166 one bedroom units, 127 two bedroom units and 22 three-bedroom units.
Those units would be divided into 283 residential units and 32 “workforce” units for firemen, school teachers and policemen. The “workforce” units would be rented to people with incomes at between 50 percent and 75 percent of the median income rate in Nassau County, Lalezarian Developers partner Kevin Lalezarian said at the May 23 meeting.
Lalezarian Developers had originally proposed a nine-story, 257-unit condominium complex with its entrance on Old Country Road. A special-permit application for a change to a rental property was prompted by market conditions, Walsh said on May 23.
The property is currently occupied by the former Keyspan building, a five-story structure.
The new Lalezarian proposal shows an artist’s rendering of the building with a recessed central section in the side of the building that would face Old Country Road. The height of the building is reduced from 108 feet, six inches to 84 feet, nine inches along Old Country Road and 94 feet, two inches along Third Street, but still contains 10 stories at a height of 103 feet, seven inches at its peak.
Board members expressed concerns about the height of the building and changes from a previous plan that would have the rear of the building facing Old Country Road. That change, with a recessed lobby entrance facing Third Avenue, was intended to direct pedestrian and auto traffic in and out of the building toward Third Avenue.
“I feel that the building’s too big. I feel that it creates “a little Manhattan,” said Strauss, who called the wall-like rear facade that would face Old Country Road “too massive.”
Trustee Paul Cusato echoed Strauss’s concern, saying, “You said you want this building to be a gateway. It’s not a gateway to me. It’s a wall.”
Kevin Lalezarian declined to comment on the changes after the June 22 submission and said he would make no comments on the revised proposal prior to the Aug. 8 hearing.
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