Talk of giving Thurber Lumber property a traditional train terminal look By AMBROSE CLANCY ROCKY POINT--A new train station could be coming to the hamlet. It doesn't matter that no trains will be arriving or departing, said Richard Johannesen, who chairs the land use committee of the Rocky Point Civic Association. At a meeting of the committee Tuesday night, property owned by Thurber Lumber could have a facelift and the new look will represent a train station, which is fitting because Rocky Point's station was once at the site, Mr. Johannesen said. Referring to Al Keilor and Kevin Keilor, the owners of Thurber Lumber as "great corporate citizens," Mr. Johannesen said the owners were asked to present a more pleasing look for downtown and were agreeable to working with the Civic Association. Architect Rick Serles of Architecture East in Rocky Point has looked at other facilities that have had a traditional train terminal look and believes it will work at the site, Mr. Johannesen said. In addition, it was learned at the meeting that Thurber Lumber had bought the old Avenue's Nightclub on Prince Road. The dilapidated building, long an eyesore, will be demolished and a new building put in its place, according to the Keilors, who attended the meeting, Mr. Johannesen said. There was also some good news on the 33-acre parcel behind McDonald's on Route 25A. Mr. Johannesen reported. The parcel has been a bone of contention for at least three years between the civic association and Fairfield Rocky Point, the owners of the property. "Originally we got off on the wrong foot with the civic association about three years ago," Gary Broxmeyer, one of the partners of Fairfield, said Wednesday. "But since then we've worked hard to come up with a plan that's acceptable to everyone." The parcel is zoned for single-family homes on half-acre lots, which would be about 60 houses, Mr. Broxmeyer said. The Civic Association opposed that. "Sixty single family homes are still a possibility but our preference is to address community needs for alternative housing," Mr. Broxmeyer said. Calling Rocky Point "a great community," Mr. Broxmeyer said there was a need for different housing and that could include "a senior community or a condominium complex." Fairfield has agreed to participate in a "charettte" the weekend of June 3-5, Mr. Broxmeyer said. A charette is a process where all interested parties gather for intensive meetings. The word comes from an old architectural usage, and is essentially a design project where plans are drawn up as the meeting progresses. Everyone is involved. Landowners, business people, environmentalists, residents and civic associations meet to decide what their community should look like. Vision Long Island will organize the charette. Eric Alexander, a director of VLI, attended the land use meeting, he said Wednesday. His group is a non-profit organization which works with communities to implement "smart growth" techniques in development. Smart growth encourages different housing uses in a development, a concern for the environment and attempts to create walkable neighborhoods, among other things. Mr. Alexander was looking forward to working in Rocky Point. "Very clearly, Rocky Point is a very sophisticated community when it comes to looking into land uses compared to other communities on the island," Mr. Alexander said.
|
