Westbury funeral home turned into office space

Real Estate Weekly, August 21, 2002

After buying the Donohue Funeral Parlor off Post Avenue in Westbury, the architectural firm of Horst Design International (HDI), Cold Spring Harbor, is currently renovating the 7,000-SF, two level building and transforming it into office space. The building was purchased from a national company in Texas.

Renamed The Parkway Building, HDI is investing $500,000 to renovate this currently lackluster facility, which will improve the neighborhood for businesses and residents. "To spruce up the exterior of this flat and worn tan colored building and attract tenants, we are stripping the old facade and using such design elements as, new soft pea green stucco with dark green cornices, two new copper entrance canopies, decorative columns and dark green shutters with white trim," says Doug Horst, president, Horst Design International. By changing the use from a funeral home to general office space, HDI will be reducing the number of cars that will come to the building. They are also developing a new parking lot with Belgian block curbs and new landscaping, which will also contribute to the aesthetics of the property.

Starting construction in July, this fast-track project should be completed on the exterior by the end of August. Ideally, HDI is seeking professional tenants like lawyers, accountants, doctors and architects. With a design firm as the landlord, tenants will gratuitously have their offices custom designed. "Our talents in office design undoubtedly enhance the appeal of our properties to prospective tenants," says HDI president Doug Horst. Examples of HDI's office designs at its other commercial buildings have appeared in The New York Times and Visual Merchandising & Store Design Magazine.