Conversion of Manhasset church hall sought

The parish hall at Christ Church in Manhasset never became a school, as intended when it was built in 1932.

It didn't become the local library's home, as proposed in the mid-1990s. Nor did it become the site of luxury senior housing, as planned a few years ago.

Now, developer Michael Puntillo of Great Neck has a new plan for the deteriorated Gothic Revival-style stucco building: turning part of it into office space. To help pay for the multimillion-dollar renovation, he would add a bank branch to the 1355 Northern Blvd. property at Plandome Road.

The North Hempstead town board this month took the first step in approving the plan by changing zoning on part of the site from residential to business and parking.

The Rev. David Lowry, rector of the Episcopal church, said the latest vision had more community support than the previous proposals.

"The people of the town get [to have] this building restored -- that's a plus," he said. Part of the property would go onto the tax rolls, he added, while, unlike housing, the development would not add students to the school district.

The project needs Board of Zoning and Appeals variances because of inadequate parking capacity and other issues. The town board would also have to approve the site plan.

Lowry said about 19,000 square feet of the 27,000-square-foot hall would be office space. The church would keep the remainder for religious and community purposes.

"The extreme expense of renovating that building requires more revenue than the building itself would generate," said Puntillo, president of Jobco Realty and Construction Inc. He called a bank "the most compatible use on the property."

Citibank, which has a building on another part of Northern Boulevard, would build a new branch with drive-through teller windows, Lowry said.

Historic preservationists support the plan.

"We've been waiting for about 20 years for something like this to happen," said Norman Nemec, president of the Manhasset Preservation Society.

Nemec, who lives next to the site, said at the hearing that his only concerns were about the modern design of the bank and its proposed location in front of the parish hall. He suggested placing it further east to not block the historic building.

Several other residents living nearby expressed concerns about additional traffic generated by the offices and bank.

A spokesman for the New York State Historic Preservation Office said the agency determined in 2000 that the church property, including the parish hall, was eligible for national landmark designation.

Alexandra Wolfe, director of preservation for the Society of the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities, said ideally the bank should be housed in an existing structure on the site. If that is not feasible, she recommended minimizing the visual impact of the bank such as "reducing the building's footprint and limiting signage."