Is Costco coming to Glen Cove?

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Glen Cove residents may soon see a big-box store come to their area, with the proposed opening of a Costco at the long-shuttered Photocircuits site. Asked about it at a Feb. 14 City Council meeting, Mayor Reginald Spinello said that bringing Costco to Glen Cove was still in the “infancy stages,” and not yet worth talking about.

Photocircuits closed in 2007. What remains at 31 Sea Cliff Ave. is an abandoned, dilapidated building.

The mayor said that the project could bring 250 jobs to the community, but residents remain split on whether bringing a big-box company to the city would be a positive development.

Deborah Orgel-Gordon, president of the Glen Head-Glenwood Landing Business Association, said that a website called Addicted to Costco lists Glen Cove as a new Costco site, with November 2017 under the heading “Uncertain opening dates.” Orgel-Gordon asked the council if this was correct.

“There is a venture firm that has the option to buy that property,” Spinello said. “I don’t know where they got that November date from.”

Spectrum Group Management, which owns the 22-acre parcel, did file plans with the state Department of Transportation for an entrance ramp to be built on Route 107, between the Glen Head Country Club and Sea Cliff Avenue. The plans are still awaiting the state’s approval.

“The entrance would be of prime consideration because of traffic flow,” Barbara Peebles, Glen Cove’s deputy mayor, explained. “We should know if it’s approved in the next couple of weeks.”

But according to Peebles, that approval would be just the beginning. “The city doesn’t own the property,” she said. “Spectrum Group will do what they need to do to sell to the interested party. The city wouldn’t start promoting this until it’s a done deal.”

At that time, hearings would be scheduled for public comment.

Orgel-Gordon Costco to the community would be a death knell for Glen Cove’s small businesses. “If a Costco does come to our town, it’s going to hurt our bakeries, our pharmacies,” she said. “It’s going to hurt places like Justin’s Toys. I’m scared about what will happen to our small local businesses.”

Not all residents, however, think Costco would hurt the community. “This gives people other than those who live here a reason to come and shop in the smaller mom-and-pop shops and dine here in Glen Cove,” said Michelle Scarfo-Juarez. “Without something big, no one will come here, and more and more stores will close.”

Peebles agreed that a Costco would boost the Glen Cove economy. “It is a fact that Costco donates 1 percent of their pre-tax income to the local community,” she said. “They hold job fairs within the hyper-local community as well.”

The site still has to undergo remediation in order to be approved for commercial use. And the city has not seen the plan that was submitted to the DOT.

Robert Kitchen, of the DOT, said that plans being considered by the agency are not posted to the state website until they are approved on all levels. “I believe that the plans might have to go to traffic and then maybe design before being posted,” he added.

A call to Spectrum Group Management had not been returned at press time.