A new development in Plainview is one step closer to becoming a reality after Oyster Bay’s Town Board voted unanimously last week to approve the final environmental impact statement for a condominium project at Old Country Road and Round Swamp Road.
The approval came after Jericho-based developer Beechwood Organization reduced the number of homes and increased the amount of open space and recreational area. The site will now have 750 condos—down from 890 residences—most of which will be restricted to owners ages 55-plus. Michael Dubb, a Beechwood principal, said 90 of the homes are “affordable” at around $300,000 set for people ages 62-plus.
The remainder of the condos, called Country Pointe at Plainview, will be a mix of semi-attached homes and townhouses starting at around $500,000. As for the open space, Beechwood will provide 57 acres, including 43 acres for sports fields. The development also calls for office space and a shopping center that will include a 67,000-square-foot Shop Rite, relocated and expanded from its current foothold in the Morton Village Shopping Center. The development will also see an additional 40,000-square-feet of additional retail space.
Beechwood officials said the firm hopes to break ground by the end of the year and open the new community in the second half of 2016.
Carol Meschkow, president and founder of Concerned Citizens of the Plainview-Old Bethpage Community, said that while she is happy about the increase in open space, she feels the development misses the mark in terms of what the community really needs.
“With the pricing, the emphasis seems to be on upscale empty nesters,” she said. “That is not a reflection of the average Plainview homeowner. Most seniors can’t aspire to buy a unit there and then pay for all the maintenance charges. There is nothing for any economical level other than upscale.”
Meschkow also said the development does nothing to address the needs of young, first-time home buyers.
“This does not represent smart growth for Plainview or Long Island,” she said. “Concerned Citizens represents community members ages one to 100. Small loft apartments over boutique shops is something that could really help a lot of people. And this project misses that mark.”
One mark that the project nails for all the wrong reasons, according to Meschkow, is traffic. She believes building an expanded, regional mega Shop Rite will further complicate life at exit 48 off the Long Island Expressway.
“Take the traffic from that store and combine it with the area’s 1,500 new residents, plus visitors, employees, the Canon expansion, new property developments on route 110, an expanded Republic Airport; that is constant growth that this area cannot support,” she said. “This is something that will have an impact on everyone.”
Residents in the immediate vicinity of the proposed development expressed concerns about traffic, especially along Round Swamp Road. Scott Graham, who lives on Round Swamp across the street from the site, said he dreads the thought of even more developments coming into the area.
“I got spoiled over the years because this had always been a relatively quiet area,” he said. “Now with the homes and the shopping, you’re bringing in thousands of people. With that, you have to start talking about potentially widening Round Swamp Road and once you do that, you’ve suddenly lost the neighborhood feel.”
Owned by Charles Wang, who purchased it in 1999 for $23 million, the site currently holds soccer fields and facilities once used as a hospital for tuberculosis patients, housing for nurses and rehabilitation centers. In 2006, Wang tried to spin the purchase into a mixed-use community called Old Plainview with condos, apartments, a hotel, office space and retail shops. The pitch was widely rejected by neighbors and town officials, forcing Wang to withdraw his proposal in 2007.
Though the new development doesn’t come close to the scale of Wang’s plan, Meschkow said it is important to take this pristine property and use it in a way that is beneficial to as many residents as possible.
“We applaud the town for working out a deal to get us the increase in open space and when new residents come in, we will welcome them with open arms,” she said. “We encourage residents to share their feelings with the town supervisor. He has our ear and he has a track record for serving the needs of the community.”
