A Civil War-era home in the heart of downtown Rockville Centre offers passersby a glimpse into the past – but now the owner wants to bring the property into the 21st century.

Developers are proposing substantial changes to the home which is surrounded by commercial businesses.

According to the property owner's attorney William Bonesso, they have submitted scaled back plans to the town after the initial public response.

The project would still turn the single-family home into a multi-use building. It originally included a restaurant, two floors of medical office space and a rooftop lounge.

That proposal would have required 56 parking spaces, which the property owner went to the Village Board of Zoning Appeals to waive. The new proposal does away with the rooftop lounge and splits the office space into half medical and half general, which will reduce the number of parking spaces the project requires.

The owner is still asking the board to waive a 10-foot setback and the parking requirements.

"We still feel those two uses, general office and medical office there's a significant demand for," Bonesso said. "As much as this was probably a nice-looking house at one time, the area has changed around it."

Some residents have called on the village to reject the application. The outspoken group, including the Rockville Centre Civic Association, has called on the village to preserve the property. They have raised concerns about the impact on parking, noise and the overall look of downtown.

"It would be a much larger building," Rockville Centre resident Rich Collett said. "One of the tallest buildings on the whole entire block."

The project was set to go back before the Village Board of Zoning Appeals tomorrow but according to documents and a village spokesperson, an ongoing parking study will likely delay it until March 5 at the earliest.

Bonesso said the delay is to allow the board to receive the new application and for the developer to conduct new traffic and parking studies.

The civic association group held a meeting at 7 p.m. at the Rockville Centre Library at 221 N. Village Ave. to discuss the proposal with the community.