Atria Great Neck expansion plan delayed

Plans by Atria Great Neck senior living community officials to convert its second floor into a memory-care facility for patients with Alzheimer’s, dementia and other mental health conditions have stalled due to concerns over proposed room sizes.
At last Wednesday’s Great Neck Plaza Board of Trustees meeting, Deputy Mayor Ted Rosen, who was filling in for Mayor Jean Celender, who was out of the country, said there were ongoing discussions between the village and the applicant.
“Based upon discussions between the village counsel and the applicant, it was agreed to adjourn this to the meeting of Oct. 5,” Rosen said.
Representatives from Atria appeared at the Aug. 17 board meeting seeking to modify its current conditional-use permit to allow for renovations for the proposed memory-care facility.
Peter Mineo, the attorney representing Atria Great Neck, which is located at 51 Great Neck Road, said the proposal seeks to convert the building’s second floor into the memory-care facility.
Mineo said that while the number of residents living in the building would decrease from 171 to 162, the number of units would remain the same.
Village Attorney Richard Gabriele said Wednesday that after the previous meeting, in which the board asked the applicant to return with more detailed information on the number of units and residents who will live on each floor, it was found that the application may have to go to the village’s zoning board.
“In the course of their presenting material to the village regarding the nature of the changes they want to make, it became evident that there was an issue related to the size of some of the units they have there now and are proposing to build,” Gabriele said.
He said there were two potential variances that the applicant may have to seek, one related to the number of total rooms and one related to room sizes based on the number of occupants in each room.
Gabriele said the applicant will  submit more material to the village for the board to determine whether to continue with the application or send it to the zoning board.
“If there’s no way to deal with it by this board, they will have to go to the zoning board,” he said. “We’re waiting for their further information.”
The next board meeting is on Oct. 5.