Eat, build, live? Fire-scarred Mineola eatery could see second life as apartments
Firefighters at the 2020 blaze at Piccola Bussola in Mineola, a restaurant property that might be converted into an 18-unit residential complex. Credit: Howard Schnapp
Tony Lubrano was at a crossroads shortly after a 2020 fire shuttered the Italian restaurant he'd owned in Mineola for 18 years. Should he open another eatery where Piccola Bussola had been or explore new possibilities?
“To replace it with more retail seemed like a difficult proposition when there’s so much other empty storefronts already," Lubrano recalled.
The restaurateur said the answer became clearer two years later when the Village of Mineola in December adopted a new Jericho Turnpike Overlay District, aiming to bring diverse development to an area with many store vacancies.
Now, the owner of the former Jericho Turnpike restaurant is proposing to replace the fire-scarred business with an 18-unit residential complex — making it the first project proposal under the new zoning district.
The district encourages developments such as multifamily dwellings, assisted living residences and hotel and event spaces. Before the change, zoning allowed for a retail operation with a living space on top, limited to 25 feet in height.
Lubrano, 62, of Plainview, ran the restaurant with his three brothers under the name Pasquale Investor — the same name on the current development proposal.
The project will come before the village board Wednesday for a public hearing.
“I’m not looking to build something that I’m going to sell next year,” said Lubrano, a former president of the Mineola Chamber of Commerce. "We wanted something that will really fit in. We didn’t want something that would be an eyesore.”
The proposed rental development would include 12 one-bedroom units and six two-bedroom units, Lubrano said. Each apartment will be a minimum of 700 square feet, he noted.
The cost to build the development and the potential apartment rental prices still are being worked out, according to Lubrano. He said the plan is for a lobby and 27 parking spots on the ground level and three stories of apartments on top.
The restaurateur said for the past two years he's been paying property tax on the empty structure. The property is between Mineola Fire Department headquarters and a vacant discount store the fire also damaged.
Lubrano said his insurance company told him the fire in the restaurant, which underwent $140,000 in renovations after the pandemic began, was sparked by an electrical short in a crawl space.
Nassau County Chief Fire Marshal Michael Uttaro said the fire on Aug. 27, 2020, wasn't suspicious "but the official cause remains undetermined due to the significant damage and collapse of the structure."
Lubrano and his family still operate two other restaurants, one in Glen Cove and another in Huntington.
The issue of empty storefronts has long been a topic of discussion among residents and local officials, who will get the chance to weigh in on Lubrano's proposal shortly.
All new projects in the overlay district need approval from the village, and regulations cap any projects to 40 feet.
Mineola Mayor Paul A. Pereira called the proposed project the type the village “envisioned” when creating the new zoning.
He said the overlay district gives property and business owners the ability to “think outside of the box and to develop their properties along the Jericho Turnpike corridor in another way rather than just simply commercial with residential above."
Tony Lubrano was at a crossroads shortly after a 2020 fire shuttered the Italian restaurant he'd owned in Mineola for 18 years. Should he open another eatery where Piccola Bussola had been or explore new possibilities?
“To replace it with more retail seemed like a difficult proposition when there’s so much other empty storefronts already," Lubrano recalled.
The restaurateur said the answer became clearer two years later when the Village of Mineola in December adopted a new Jericho Turnpike Overlay District, aiming to bring diverse development to an area with many store vacancies.
Now, the owner of the former Jericho Turnpike restaurant is proposing to replace the fire-scarred business with an 18-unit residential complex — making it the first project proposal under the new zoning district.
The district encourages developments such as multifamily dwellings, assisted living residences and hotel and event spaces. Before the change, zoning allowed for a retail operation with a living space on top, limited to 25 feet in height.
Lubrano, 62, of Plainview, ran the restaurant with his three brothers under the name Pasquale Investor — the same name on the current development proposal.
The project will come before the village board Wednesday for a public hearing.
“I’m not looking to build something that I’m going to sell next year,” said Lubrano, a former president of the Mineola Chamber of Commerce. "We wanted something that will really fit in. We didn’t want something that would be an eyesore.”
The proposed rental development would include 12 one-bedroom units and six two-bedroom units, Lubrano said. Each apartment will be a minimum of 700 square feet, he noted.
The cost to build the development and the potential apartment rental prices still are being worked out, according to Lubrano. He said the plan is for a lobby and 27 parking spots on the ground level and three stories of apartments on top.
The restaurateur said for the past two years he's been paying property tax on the empty structure. The property is between Mineola Fire Department headquarters and a vacant discount store the fire also damaged.
Lubrano said his insurance company told him the fire in the restaurant, which underwent $140,000 in renovations after the pandemic began, was sparked by an electrical short in a crawl space.
Nassau County Chief Fire Marshal Michael Uttaro said the fire on Aug. 27, 2020, wasn't suspicious "but the official cause remains undetermined due to the significant damage and collapse of the structure."
Lubrano and his family still operate two other restaurants, one in Glen Cove and another in Huntington.
The issue of empty storefronts has long been a topic of discussion among residents and local officials, who will get the chance to weigh in on Lubrano's proposal shortly.
All new projects in the overlay district need approval from the village, and regulations cap any projects to 40 feet.
Mineola Mayor Paul A. Pereira called the proposed project the type the village “envisioned” when creating the new zoning.
He said the overlay district gives property and business owners the ability to “think outside of the box and to develop their properties along the Jericho Turnpike corridor in another way rather than just simply commercial with residential above."
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