The Nassau County Planning Commission on Thursday unanimously approved an application to subdivide more than 400,000 square feet of Roslyn Country Club property for the formation of a new Town of North Hempstead park district alongside a catering hall operated by the land’s current owner.
The approval paves the way for the Town of North Hempstead and current owner Corona Realty Holdings to finalize a $2 million acquisition of the 320,231 square-foot site for the new Roslyn Country Club park district, officials said.
Corona Realty Holdings, operated by Manouchehr Malekan, plans to maintain 134,906 square feet of the Royalton at Roslyn Country Club catering hall, with off-street parking.
“This is a very good project moving forward that has been ongoing for years, and I’m glad it was able to be worked out,” said Jeff Greenfield, planning commission chairman.
The two sides agreed to the acquisition in 2012. The town last year created a special park district within the unincorporated Roslyn community to restore the country club, which was shuttered several years ago.
“The County Planning Commission’s decision is great news,” North Hempstead Town Councilman Peter Zuckerman (D-Roslyn) said in a statement. “This approval for the subdivision of the property keeps us steadily moving forward toward our goal of building a park in the Roslyn Country Club area of North Hempstead that will be the centerpiece of this community.”
A plan to renovate the club’s pool area and tennis courts and construct a new locker room facility, playgrounds and basketball court was detailed during two public information sessions last month at the Wheatley School in Old Westbury.
North Hempstead officials have said construction on the property is projected to begin in fall 2015 and continue through 2017. A tentative date of Memorial Day 2017 has been set for the country club to reopen.
Perhaps the most severe repairs included in the plan are for the pool area, which officials said would allow for a wade-in area compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act, lap swimming and several smaller pools to be used for aerobics classes and swim instruction.
“The response of those in attendance at both public forums was very positive,” North Hempstead Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth said in a statement. “We are optimistic that the project will continue to move forward.”
The redevelopment would be financed using $12 million in borrowed funds, which town officials said would be repaid over a 20-year period. The town would also utilize bond anticipation notes in the first five years of the project due to current low interest rates.
The park district is expected to require $1,092,342 in operating costs in its first year, officials said.
Residents living within the country club community – the property is located within Locust Lane, Saddle Lane and Club Drive – would pay a median $1,320 assessed valuation in 2017, town officials said, based on a home valued at $730,800.
Malekan unsuccessfully sued Roslyn Country Club residents over easement rights dating back to the 1950s that provided for use of the country club’s facilities for $100 a year, then shuttered the club. Nearly 400 residents then countersued.
The litigation is still pending in court, but Roslyn Country Club Civic Association president Todd Zarin and Town Attorney Liz Botwin said nearly all would drop their lawsuits in exchange for access to the facility.
Bosworth said the additional litigation would not affect the sale and prospective redevelopment of the country club and that the transaction would be protected by the state comptroller’s office and state Constitution.
Roslyn Country Club residents would automatically become members of the new park district, Bosworth said. Prospective membership fees were not disclosed.
Construction is also contingent on the approval of a subdivision application submitted to Nassau County, Botwin said.
She said public hearings would be held on the application and that legal notices would be sent to residents in advance of the hearings.
