Passersby in recent weeks may have noticed the construction crew busily at work on the southeast corner of Merrick Road at Whitewood Drive in the Village of Massapequa Park, as Massapequa Funeral Home, Inc. begins a much-anticipated building project.

Five years after purchasing the two-and-a-half acre parcel, the owners of the Massapequa Funeral Home have broken ground for the construction of their South Chapel, marking a major expansion for the family-owned business.

"I bought the property five years ago. And shortly after that started the wheels turning, as far as the development stages," said Travis Nicholson, fourth generation owner of the funeral home. "It took quite a while to get everything approved." The business needed, and obtained, building approval from the Village of Massapequa Park and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). DEC approval was needed because a small portion of the property is considered a wetland area.

The site of the new funeral home abuts the property on which the Whitewood Landing senior housing project will be constructed. That project by developer Woodbury Cove Associates, has been in planning for about two years, and is awaiting a building permit from the Village of Massapequa Park. Responding to some residents' complaints that it is insensitive to build a funeral home next to a senior housing complex, Nicholson noted that his plans preceded those for Whitewood Landing.

He added that he decided to build the South Chapel several years ago in order to better serve the community. "I felt there was a need for it to serve the families on the south end of town," he said.

The new building will be named Massapequa Funeral Homes South Chapel. The original facility at the corner of Park and Clark Blvds. in Massapequa Park, now known as Massapequa Funeral Home, will have North Chapel added to its name.

The south chapel will be approximately 7,500 square feet with about 70 parking spaces. Construction is expected to be completed in spring of 2001.