Island Properties is in a new development phase. Finished with buying properties, then restoring them and now building new properties, they have decided it is time to get rid of those sites that do not fit their current plan. They are staying closer to the downtown area with their holdings located from Mariner's Walk in the south to those on Audrey Avenue and along South Street.

Michael Picker of Charles Wang's sports entities and CEO of Renaissance Properties attended the Thursday, March 9 meeting of the Oyster Bay Chamber of Commerce. The meeting was hosted at Joseph Morello's Angelina's in East Norwich.

Besides Mr. Picker, three members of the Renaissance Properties Realties Services team, the new Northern Bay Management, attended. They included Julie Sheifetz, project manager; Nelson Steiner and Walter Imperatore, Mr. Picker's assistant. Ms. Sheifetz set up a PowerPoint presentation that showed photographs of their newest project, Mariner's Walk. Everyone was invited to view the slides at their new sales office at 20 Audrey Avenue. There will be 28 elegant townhouses "nestled in the heart of the Gold Coast" for sale starting at $800,000. They are all set at the market rate and are upscale, said Mr. Picker, adding that "one is sold and there are eight real prospects."

Showing he wanted to encourage the chamber projects, Mr. Picker announced that Island Properties would give the first $1,000 pledge to the chamber's Brooke Jackman Health Walk and 5K Run, that was announced by Steve Gourlay as part of the upcoming Health Fair to be held on May 20.

Mr. Picker said as he began his talk to chamber members, "I've been at Nassau County to see if I can get a new coliseum. We are doing okay. We are pushing," he said adding that he was at the meeting to answer questions.

He said Island Properties currently has 37 properties for sale and lease on the market. "They are not strategic in what we want to do, after a re-evaluation of them we see they are not what we want," he said. He added, "Charles Wang has committed dollars to the current projects."

Mr. Picker wanted to talk about what Island Properties has already done in the hamlet of Oyster Bay. "People are not realizing what we have done. We haven't done a perfect job and we want to do better. Mariner's Walk started today on the site. There is very good interest in that project," he added.

He showed before and after slides of what they have done in the hamlet. He began with a picture of the former laundromat at 19 East Main St. that has been replaced by the Subway store. He said they did work on both the outside and inside. They demolished the interior and put in a new floor working with Bob Austin the local owner and following the franchise style guidelines.

He said the Oyster Bay Frame Shop on Audrey Avenue has been replaced by Ben's Garden. "We retained the original tin ceiling. Ben is incredible and the store is phenomenal. He has books and prints. He is a tremendous entrepreneur of quality merchandise. Inside the floors were collapsing. Now there is new wiring, a new floor. It was not an overnight job."

He showed a picture of the building where the Mar-Lyn Beauty Parlor was located. They renovated the building for Obes, the project they did with Oyster Bay High School students. They took a building in the style of 1940 and restored it back to the 1900s. "It is vacant now but it was done with the high school students. They had full say on the inside. Now they are in Harvard, MIT and Yale," said Mr. Picker.

They also restored two buildings on Audrey Avenue: 10 Audrey Avenue, the location of Piccolo Picatta, a woman's shop; and next to that, 20 Audrey Ave. "It was a laundromat and in 1900 it was a bank. There was a bank vault in the middle of the building that we had to get out. It made it a difficult project. That is where the Mariner's Walk sales center is located. The Stevenson Academy is located on the second floor and Tableworks is on the third floor."

The slide show switched to South Street where Not Just Art is located at 179-183. They also renovated For Pets Only at 185 South Street. He said, "Everything was done very tastefully." The two buildings have the same arched entrance and are both painted blue and white.

They also renovated what had been known as "The Pink House," number 255. He said a former Brooks Brother's heir lived there. When they began to remove the vinyl siding they uncovered the original cedar shakes and clapboard and as a result, restored the building to its 1900s look.

Next door was the former Cooper-Sabini medical practice at 249 South Street. Local attorney Ed Mohlenhoff is a partner in the firm of Siegel, Fenchel & Peddy which owns the 46,000 sq. ft. building. That renovation was interesting to watch as they took the "shoebox" shaped office area on the left, and using the full footprint of the house, re-designed it to cover the entire space by adding a wing in keeping with the style of the building. Mr.Picker showed slides of the very attractive interior including a study with a window overlooking the street.

He showed a slide of the walkway Island Properties and the Town of Oyster Bay worked on at 30 West Main St. "We converted a garage into a garden," said Mr. Picker. There are benches, trees, plantings that will be refreshed in the spring and a fountain that is not working at present. One of the Renaissance staff said they have already spoken to the town about the garden which he said will be replanted for the summer.

The slide show returned to South Street where the future HSBC Bank is being built at 275 South Street, opposite Mariner's Walk at 286 South Street. "Monday the digging begins," said Mr. Picker. The 28 townhouses will have granite counter tops, a clubhouse and a concierge.

The new Bernstein's Hardware store, which will be built at 26-30 Pine Hollow Road just had its building permit approved, he said. It will be a 35,000 sq. ft. one-story building and construction will begin in the spring.

Mr. Picker showed a slide of the NAPA building at 169 South Street. He said the "pretty brick three-story building is going through the town's process. The first floor will be retail and the second and third will be rental apartments." There will be 8 units, four to a floor. Parking will be in the back, using part of their lot and sharing the municipal lot behind the building.

He was asked about the Knights of Columbus Hall and said, it needs a new idea. It could be a theater or a fitness center.

Someone asked if they have any plans for the removal of the Commander Oil tanks and the answer was "no."

Steve Gourlay of Evolution Fitness said he was not being a cheerleader but wanted to say that over the past four years he has gotten a great amount of service and support from Renaissance Properties. They helped him get started and to grow. "I'm working with Walter and Julie to make the business a success. They are helping me grow my business and I am expanding to Bayville." Mr. Gourlay said he had been approached by the landlord of the store next to the Souvalaki restaurant. He is thinking of including a coffee shop that sells smoothies as well as the fitness center.

"Island Properties owns the Boat Shop building too," said Muir Guzman. She runs Muir that features chic women's clothing and was recently joined by her mother who runs Brigid, a children's clothing store in the building at 2 South Street, opposite Commander Plaza.

Renaissance Realty Services is working to lease several properties. They include 50 Audrey Avenue where the HSBC Bank will be moving soon. They own number 91 Audrey Ave. (AKA 91-93) which is the former tailor shop. It is 58.3 percent rented. It has two store spaces.

They are looking to lease 98-102 Audrey Ave. and the building behind it, another retail site. They own 9 Berry Hill Road, 13 Berry Hill Road, the Busy Bee corner; 30 E. Main Street, the former Obes; 150 Pine Hollow Road, the former Hallock dealership; 4 South Street, the former Commander Oil garage; 62 South Street, the DeRosa building, North Cove Plaza, and the Oyster Bay Beverage location.

They own the former Uwe's at 73 South Street; the Bernstein Hardware store at 136-140 South Street; 169 South Street the former NAPA building; 179 South Street; 185 South Street and 41 Summit Street, the K of C building.

They have put on the market for sale: 49 East Main St.; 27-29 Maxwell Ave.; 31-33 Maxwell Ave.; 18 Pine Hollow Rd.; 47 Pine Hollow Rd.; 95 Pine Hollow Rd.; 97 Pine Hollow Rd., 99 Pine Hollow Rd.; 123 Pine Hollow Rd.; 135-137 Pine Hollow Rd.; 30 West Main St.; 75-79 West Main St.; 11 Burtis Ave.; 161 Ivy St.; 15 Pine Drive; 26 Pine Dr.; 53 Bayside Avenue; 100 Pine Hollow Rd.; 97 East Main St.; 91 Maxwell Ave.; and 1065 West Shore Rd.

For information about the properties you can call Ms. Sheifetz at 622-8222 at the Plainview office of Renaissance Realty Services.