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Planning Board grants site plan approval for residential/retail renovations

A joint retail and residential building on South Street has received site plan approval from the Greenport Planning Board following two public hearings last Thursday.

Developer James Olinkiewicz proposed interior and exterior renovations to two properties at 110 and 112 South St. near the Greenport IGA.

The first floor of each building will be converted into retail spaces and the second will be renovated into “affordable” residential apartments, attorney Patricia Moore said after the public hearing. There will be two apartments in each of the buildings, she said.

Ms. Moore said the house at 110 South St. overlaps the rear property line of 112 South St. The approved site plan will construct a dividing wall through the center of the building to create two separate properties, Ms. Moore said. In the village, she said, the properties cannot be merged.

Now that Mr. Olinkiewicz has obtained site plan approval, he will apply for a building permit. Renovations are expected to begin in four months, she said.

Prior to obtaining site plan approval, Ms. Moore said, a technical application had to go before the Zoning Board of Appeals to determine if altering the walls meant they were constructing new buildings.

“…They said no, what you’re doing is consistent with alterations,” she said. “Ultimately, we came to them with a conforming application.”

According to previous reports, the ZBA granted two variances related to Mr. Olinkiewicz’s proposal. The first grants relief from front yard setback requirements to allow a porch at the 110 property that is nine inches too close to the sidewalk. The second allows lot coverage at the 112 property to increase from the permitted 40% to 62%.

The attorney said this is not the first time Mr. Olinkiewicz has converted properties into affordable residential spaces.

“It’s his mission to provide affordable apartments for people that need it,” she said. “He’s renovated houses all over the village and provide affordable apartments.”

The commercial spaces have been vacated to begin construction, she said. No tenants have been selected at this time and the price of the apartments have not yet been determined.

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