Glen Cove awarded $600,000 in state funds for waterfront recreational project

Glen Cove has been awarded $600,000 in state funds to study and create plans to redevelop 8.8 acres of waterfront property for recreational uses.

The money is slated to be used to prepare designs and plans for a "blighted" and "underutilized" site on the south side of Glen Cove Creek, according to state documents.

"This is an important first step in helping the city repurpose valuable, underutilized property on the south side of our waterfront," Mayor Reginald Spinello said. "It'll hopefully meet recreational demands and provide a new public access to the waterfront."

The funding is part of $82 million awarded to Long Island in state aid for construction projects and company expansions. The 2014 allocation will be divided among 97 projects.

Spinello said an incinerator and the waste transfer facility are now on the property, which is adjacent to a 19-acre park.

Designs will be prepared to add the site to the neighboring park and add amenities, including pathways, landscaping, parking and signage, according to state documents.

A massive multiuse redevelopment project is planned for the north side of Glen Cove Creek. The city's planning board approved the first phase of the project in November, bringing it significantly closer to breaking ground.

It unanimously accepted the site plan and the subdivision plan with conditions. The 56-acre development, known as Garvies Point, is slated to be built in three phases and supplement the city's ferry project, which began in 2010.

The entire Garvies Point project has 860 residential units, half rentals and half condominiums; a 250-suite hotel; 50,000 square feet of commercial space; 25,000 square feet of retail space; 10 percent workforce housing; and 19 acres of public amenities and open space, including two parks and two marinas.