Proposed apartments ignite debate in Kings Park revitalization effort

Proposed apartments ignite debate in Kings Park revitalization effort

Downtown Kings Park. File photo

By Sabrina Artusa

Cornerstone Kings Park, a 50-unit luxury apartment building proposed for the corner of Meadow Road and Indian Head Road in Kings Park, was discussed at the Smithtown Board of Zoning Appeals public hearing on Aug. 6.

The 44,883-square-foot project would sit outside of the LIRR train station and would be part of the Kings Park downtown revitalization effort.

The proposed project necessitates a special exception as the surrounding area is currently zoned as commercial-business & industrial. A vacant restaurant pad site would need to be demolished if the project is to be built.

In order to progress and be considered by the Smithtown Town Board, the Smithtown Zoning Board of Appeals must approve the special exception.

The zoning board doesn’t anticipate making a recommendation to the Town Board until the Smithtown Comprehensive Master Plan is adopted, which would change the zoning of the area to transit oriented development (TOD). Further, the zoning board expressed dissatisfaction with several setbacks, which they deemed deficient even if the plan is adopted. The zoning change to transit oriented development would alter the minimum requirement for a setback.

Smithtown Board of Zoning Appeals meeting on Aug. 6. Photo courtesy of Smithtownny.gov

Legislator Rob Trotta (R-Fort Salonga) spoke at the public hearing. “I am all for building something on this property,” he said. “Make no mistake about it. But 50 units in the parking lot of a shopping center is ridiculous.”

Trotta went on to suggest making a portion of the units co-ops or condominiums, an idea he has integrated in a resolution he designed to increase home ownership. The resolution was shot down in a Suffolk County Economic Development, Planning & Housing Committee meeting.

The size and magnitude of the project is one of the chief factors of concern for many. One constituent said, “I used to work in Queens and I like to come home to a backyard and a different style of life … it will kind of diminish and ruin what we are trying to have here. This kind of deviates from that kind of thinking.”

Another member of the community was eager for the project to provide more housing opportunities for the aging generation and to economically boost the downtown area.

Indeed, the developers market the project as a step towards fulfilling the goals listed in the Revitalizing Downtown Kings Park Action Plan which was developed by The Kings Park Chamber of Commerce and Kings Park Civic Association in 2016.

“Utilizing the Revitalizing Downtown Kings Park Action Plan, Terwillliger Bartone, with the Cornerstone Kings Park project, fills an important role of meeting the desires of the plan, from parking to transit oriented development to design and more” the Cornerstone Kings Park website reads.

After receiving criticism from citizens, the developers, Tanzi Properties LLC and Terwilliger & Bartone Properties, made several adjustments to the proposal, including decreasing the stories from four to three and supplementing above ground parking with an underground garage.

The developers expect the project to bring in $2 million annually in discretionary spending. Furthermore, their traffic study indicated that “it is the perfect complement to what is already existing in the area,” said the lawyer for the developers, Garrett Gray of Weber Law Group.

Gray said in his presentation that at peak hours, the parking is not expected to exceed 77% capacity.

Cornerstone Kings Park is one of the projects being considered for the $10 million Smithtown-Kings Park has received from the state for its downtown revitalization.

The application is still under review; the Zoning Board will more seriously consider making a recommendation once the Smithtown Comprehensive Master Plan is adopted, which is expected to occur within the coming months.