The Roma Building, located at the crossroads of Routes 118 (Saw Mill River Road), 202 and 35, is expected to undergo a makeover as soon as a group of architects receive the necessary building permits from the town of Yorktown.
Michael Piccirillo, of Michael Piccirillo Commercial Architecture in Shrub Oak, presented the plans at a recent meeting of the Advisory Board on Architecture & Community Appearance (ABACA). He applied for permits about three weeks ago and is now now awaiting to receive them.
The concept for the building's design, which will give the building height and color, was to give it more of a "village" look, Piccirillo said.
Construction of the building would take from four to six months. Piccirillo said he hopes to receive the permits by the end of the month. He said there would be no structural changes to the Roma Building – the building would undergo façade renovations and there would not be any changes to the parking lot.
"There should be minimum affects on the tenants," said Piccirillo, a Yorktown resident and co-chair of ABACA. Those arrangements, though, would be made between the owner of the Roma Building and the contractor.
He expects the tenants to remain open during construction.
The 24,780-square-foot Roma building was built by Joe Roma in 1961, William Primavera writes in this article on Patch. After his death in 1976 and his wife Grace's death in 2006, the building was maintained by their three children. The Roma Building was sold for $2.6 million to 1331 Metro Holdings Corporation in 2011.
Some of the tenants include, on the first level, Autobahn Car Repair and Gas Station, Gaudio’s Restaurant and the adjoining Three Boys from Italy Pizza, Marshall Alarm Systems, as well as Twist Frozen Yogurt Bar and Sweet Shop. On the second level are: Yorktown Jewelers, Yorktown Barber Shop, the Dental Implant and Cosmetic Center and others.
"I think it will be a great building for Yorktown," Piccirillo said of the renovations. "It will put Yorktown back on the map. It will be a great step to rebuild the downtown of Yorktown."
What do you think of the renovation plans? Tell us in the comments below.
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Is no consistency with regard to construction in Yorktown. The proposed design for refacing the Roma building is attractive and long overdue
I never knew that was the oldest structure in Yorktown. I know the old Yorktown HS is very old, we used it as the 6th grade school. That structure has to be the very oldest in Yorktown.
Just a suggestion... :)
Make it a bell tower! That way you get a beautiful song every hour to chime out from the new, STURDY tower!
Most importantly, the new owners should get rid of the parking area on 118/202/35, which is a nightmare to get in and out of and which causes more traffic at that horrible intersection. They should replace the parking with a pedestrian area and plantings, which would create room for the restaurants and ice cream stores in the building to have outdoor seating. In addition, the owners should create a better walkway from the front of the building to the parking in the rear upper level. And the town should improve the pedestrian crosswalks to encourage shoppers to walk from the Triangle Mall, Turco's, and other places to the Roma Building. These modest updates would be a positive change for the town.
It's not a 'real' bell, (though the old bell is still there) but it sounds real, and it's nice. Isn't it NICE TO BE NICE!? Damnit! LOL! (just kidding..)
Why don't you go to Dunkin Donuts and suggest to the owner (I'm pretty sure that one is privately owned) that they expand? It's not like the store next to them isn't available (and has been in the past). Easy enough to do if they want to spend the money.