The Village of Great Neck Plaza Board of Zoning Appeals on Wednesday unanimously voted to allow the owners of a co-op at 20 Canterbury Road to convert three offices in the building to residences.
“The residents at 20 Canterbury are pleased with the decision of the Village of Great Neck Plaza’s zoning board,” said Christopher Prior, attorney for the co-op’s owners.
Margaret Warner, president of 20 Canterbury Owners Corp., said at a meeting of the board of zoning appeals last month that two of the three offices are vacant and the owners of the co-op believe the space can be rented as residences.
“This is really a major issue for us in the co-op,” Warner said. “We as a board have been trying to find a way to position ourselves for the future.”
The building currently consists of 42 apartments units and three basement offices, Prior said.
Prior said last month the owners have lost money on two office spaces that have remained unoccupied for several years.
“They are doing nothing for anyone,” he said.
Prior said on Thursday he believes the new residential spaces “will benefit not only the residents of 20 Canterbury, but also the surrounding neighborhood.”
The third office, which is currently occupied by a physical therapist, will continue to be an office space until the current tenant leaves, Warner said last month.
Warner said the therapist’s current lease with the building is expiring at the end of the year, but that he has the option to extend it four, eight or 12 years.
The plan requires a variance because it would make the building a four-story residential building, including the basement, in an area that only allows three-story residential buildings.
Prior called the variance “technical.”
“We’re not adding a floor to the building,” he said.
Board of zoning appeals chair Faith Cleary said last month the owner’s desire to convert office space to residential is common in the village.
“This is not an unknown practice,” Cleary said. “We have heard this story before.”
