A vacant property at 733 Middle Neck Road was sold for $1.24 million for use as a religious facility, brokers with Cushman & Wakefield announced on Thursday.
The 6,504 square foot property, home to a 4,477-square foot mixed-use building, was bought by Gesher Inc., a non-profit Jewish educational organization aiming to bridge “the gaps between different segments of Israeli society,” according to its website.
Gesher representatives could not be reached for further comment about their plans for the site.
Stephen Preuss and Kevin Schmitz of Cushman & Wakefield managed the sale.
“733 Middle Neck Road provides the immediate opportunity to capitalize on the lack of developable land available in the Great Neck Area,” Preuss said, describing it as a property of “great potential.”
The property was considered one “of interest,” meaning it was “either under development, or as having development potential that is of interest to the Village of Great Neck in its efforts to improve the Middle Neck Road corridor,” in a study by the engineering firm VHB, the village’s consultant on revitalizing Middle Neck Road and East Shore Road.
Last year, the Great Neck Board of Trustees had approved an application for 733 Middle Neck Road, which would add residential space and upgrade the building’s facade while utilizing bottom floor retail space. They had also reduced parking requirements from 11 spaces to five.
Joe Gill, the village clerk-treasurer, said there is currently no application to the village to demolish or change the use of the building and that the placement of a religious organization “is not what has been discussed or approved by the village.”
“They [the owners of 733 Middle Neck Road] had been to the board within the last couple of months and had gotten an approval for mixed use with a couple of storefronts on the first floor and then apartments,” Gill said, “so to our knowledge that’s all that’s happening there.”
