A new retail store and office buildings may be coming to the site of a community eyesore in Oakdale.

The property at 1410 Montauk Highway, which once housed J&R Sports Center, appeared before the Islip Town Planning Board on April 28.

Applicant and architect Erik Bjorneby of EAB Architect and Designs was seeking to add space on both floors of the two-story building related to the expansion of first-floor retail space and second-story offices.

Part of the application also requested a 33 percent parking relaxation on the 0.26-acre site, meaning only 16 regular parking spaces and one handicapped space would be provided, though 24 spaces are required.

After updates, the building would be roughly 42,000 square feet, an increase of about 58 percent, planning board staff stated.

Bjorneby said the building has been vacant in the neighborhood for over 16 years. He noted that the new owner, who lives in Oakdale, will occupy one of the offices and will monitor the condition of the building.

The building is currently about 1,581 square feet on the first floor, which was used as retail space in the past. The second story is roughly 1,051 square feet, which was previously used as storage space.

The second story will house roughly four to five offices, which would be rented individually with a common waiting area. The owner does not have a tenant for the retail space at this time, Bjorneby said.

During the public hearing section of the meeting, 10 residents spoke up and expressed support of the project as it could beautify the community.

“I think I speak for everyone I know when I say I’m extremely tired of seeing buildings in a dilapidated condition that's been for the past 15 years,” community member Paul Harvey said. “In my opinion, any application that will continue to improve this building should definitely be approved.”

Bjorneby said his team had received a variance to make some additions to the building in February 2020.

Board member Kevin Brown said the property desperately needs to be renovated, but he’d like to see additional parking provided on-site.

The planning board unanimously approved the application with two conditions: Firstly, the retail space on the first floor will be used as dry retail only – meaning no restaurant retail – unless additional parking becomes available. The second condition states that should a parking issue arise, board members reserve the right to bring the application back before the board.