Over the past several years there have been many rumors about the vacant lot on the corner of Hempstead Turnpike and Wantagh Avenue being sold. This past July an application for development of the property was submitted to the Town of Hempstead. Although the plans have not yet been approved by the town, the property has been leased and plans are in motion to open a Target shopping center.

According to Town Councilwoman Linda Reed, the plans that have been brought to the board include one major store, Target, and some smaller boutiques. The plans must be approved by all the different departments of the town, including the building department, traffic commission, and waterways. Reed stated, "Once it's reviewed and everything is okay, again it will come in front of the town board for a resolution but at this stage we do not know exactly when that's going to happen." She added that it is a very slow process.

The sale of this property has been a concern of the residents of Island Trees because the development of this property could decrease their taxes. The vacant lot has been a thorn in many residents' sides as well because it attracts kids who like to hang out there at night. It is also considered an eyesore around town because it invariably collects trash, which is very rarely cleaned up.

According to Superintendent Richard Segerdahl, "The school district is very pleased that there is potential for the lot to be developed." He remains cautiously optimistic about the development though because there have been so many rumors in the past about the property being sold.

As a vacant lot the property is the fourth largest taxpayer in the district. Segerdahl added, "We would certainly garner more income from a developed piece of property than from a vacant lot. How much it will help we have no concept of at all, other than it should be more income to help the taxpayers." The property, when developed, will have to be assessed by the county to see how much the taxes will increase for that property, thus bringing in more revenue to help the Class I homeowner.

"Beyond the revenue part, I think it will improve the whole presentation of that lot on the corner, which is about 15.8 acres," stated Segerdahl.

Reed said, "It should look really nice when it's done. It's supposed to be just one level so it will wrap around the whole property with plenty of parking around the perimeters and landscaping." There will also be barriers so the store won't be right up against Island Trees Middle School.

The leasing company has also done a traffic survey of the area because they were concerned about the traffic because it is the corner of Hempstead Turnpike and Wantagh Avenue and because the middle school is right there. In regard to traffic considerations, the company has also, according to Reed, looked into putting additional traffic lights on either Hempstead Turnpike or Wantagh Avenue.

According to Segerdahl, one of the district's main concerns is the safety of the children walking to school on Wantagh Avenue but he feels, because Target is a department store and probably not open until after 9 a.m. when the students are already in school, it should not be too much of a problem. "I'm not concerned about the traffic. I don't believe that it will increase the traffic dramatically on Hempstead Turnpike in that it has a big frontage, where you should have a lot of egress in and out. My concern would be the egress in and out on the east side of Wantagh Avenue, where children cross Hempstead Turnpike to walk to the middle school," Segerdahl added. He stated, "I think all of that can be worked out with logical people wanting to solve the problem."

Reed said that people around the area are ecstatic about the plans for the property although many will miss the days when the property was used for a carnival in the warmer weather and a Christmas tree lot in the winter. It is the in between times, when the property is used as a dumping ground that residents will not miss. Segerdahl believes, "it will improve what is now a tremendous eyesore, which we have worked three different times with Island Trees students and residents to clean up, picking up papers and the debris. We're just tired of doing that."