At Former Eagle Hill Facility—

Developer Seeks Zone Change For Proposed Condo Complex 

By Andrew Gorosko

A developer is requesting a change of zone from the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) as a preliminary step in seeking to build a 56-unit age-restricted condominium complex at the site of a vacant former private drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Sandy Hook.

Applicant Jack Dweck of New York City, doing business as Pine Crest Estates, Inc, is seeking a change of zone from R-2 (Residential) to EH-10 (Elderly Housing) for a 20-acre property at 32 Alberts Hill Road, which formerly held The Cornerstone at Eagle Hill. The applicant owns the site.

The site’s current R-2 zoning is intended for single-family houses on building lots of at least two acres. EH-10 zoning is intended for high-density, multifamily housing for people over age 55.

The site has been vacant for several years. The treatment facility closed after a series of regulatory issues and patient emergencies hindered its operation.

P&Z has scheduled a public hearing on the requested change of zone for November 3.

The developer also would need a special exception to the zoning regulations to create the condo complex.

P.W. Scott Engineering & Architecture of Brewster, NY, represents the applicant.

P&Z Chairman William O’Neil said this week that the site’s relatively remote location poses vehicle access issues. Also, the project’s current design does not meet applicable land use regulations, he said.

In a memorandum to P&Z, Conservation Official Rob Sibley recommends against converting the site’s zoning designation from R-2 to EH-10. If the site is to be developed, it should be developed under the rules specified by R-2 zoning, according to Mr Sibley.

A traffic study prepared for the applicant by Frederick P. Clark Associates, Inc, of Fairfield states that the redeveloped site would generate an estimated 15 vehicle trips during the morning peak traffic-flow hour, and would generate an estimated 20 vehicle trips during the evening peak traffic-flow hour.

“This level of additional traffic on area roadways surrounding Alberts Hill Road will be insignificant and result in no need for mitigation to area roadways or traffic control,” according to the report. The condo complex would use an existing driveway on the site from which vegetation would be cleared to improve motorist sightlines, it adds.

The site would hold eight acres of open space, according to the development application.

The site is located on the north side of Alberts Hill Road, about one-quarter mile west of its intersection with Walnut Tree Hill Road. The site is bordered by McLaughlin Vineyards and by individual residential lots.

The site includes four vacant buildings that formerly were used by The Cornerstone at Eagle Hill.

The developer proposes a combination of new construction and the conversion of existing buildings to create a condo complex.

Pine Crest would construct 38 new dwellings in the form of eight buildings holding four condos each, and one building holding six condos. Also, 14 dwellings would be created in one large building containing elevators. The developer would create two condos in each of two existing buildings. Garages would be constructed.

According to the developer’s rezoning application, new construction would be interspersed among existing facilities on the site. An existing recreation area would be expanded to include a larger recreation building, an upgrade of an existing swimming pool, and the replacement of an existing tennis court.

An existing driveway on the site would be widened. A large new septic waste disposal system would be built to treat wastewater discharged by the condos. The septic system would have an approximately five-acre leaching field. An existing well water supply on the site would provide water service.

In May 2003, Lutheran General Behavioral Health Corporation of Oak Brook, Ill., sold The Cornerstone at Eagle Hill property to Pine Crest Estates, Inc., for $1.375 million.