Final Demolition of Old Keyspan Building Begins

At about 4 a.m. Friday morning, a loud explosion was heard on Old Country Road and West Street in Mineola. Seconds later a third of what remains of the former Keyspan Building at 250 Old Country Road collapsed on itself in a heap of rubble, leaving a large white cloud to move across the road in the pre-dawn hours.

Mineola Properties, LLC with applicant Robert Kahen and Kevin Lalezarian of Lake Success-based Lalezarian Developers, will construct a residential housing complex consisting of 283 market-value units and 32 next-generation first responder units on the site. Lalezarian was seen Friday afternoon on the site inspecting the soon-to-be demolished structure.

The building was originally owned by LILCO before being transferred to Keyspan. It was bought by MTA in 2005 in order to obtain the property where the intermodal center now sits. Since then, neither the village nor any other taxing entity has received real estate taxes from the property. After lobbying by the village, the MTA finally sold the property.

The project was originally comprised of 257 condo units, but due to the economic downturn and the collapse of the condo market as well as the veto power held over a condo project by the Village of Garden City.

At a May 23 hearing, the village board critiqued the proposal involving concerns height of the building on the Old Country Road side, the sheer “bulk and massiveness” of the building as an almost unbroken edifice, the number of units - approximately 340 proposed - including incorporation of studio apartments, general architectural features and the proposed number of parking spaces.

On June 20 a revised design was submitted to the village that lowered the perimeter building height, reduced the mass of the building facing Old Country Road, being of a more aesthetically pleasing nature, eliminating studio apartments and lowering overall apartment count to 315. However, the design did not comply with village parking regulations per unit of 1.5 spaces per unit. Through talks the developer eventually agreed to increase the per-space count to reach the requirement. There would also be 12 visitor-dedicated parking spaces.

Architects maintained the 343,000 sq. ft. building, adding 20 three-bedroom units, have kept the orientation toward Third Avenue, carved out a portion in the middle of the building for a pool, and set the penthouse units back from the facade of the building.

The apartment breakdown is as follows: 166 one-bedroom at 750 sq. ft., 127 two-bedroom at 1,050 sq. ft. and 22 three-bedroom units.

It is not known when the remaining sections of the building will be demolished.

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