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WPCNR CITY HALL CIRCUIT. July 9, 2008 UPDATED 6:22 P.M. EDT: Paul Wood, Executive Officer for Mayor Delfino, expressed concern to WPCNR about the effect the new payment schedules for buy-outs on the Windsor Terrace and Hale Avenue condominium projects and future development of the city yesterday. Wood  said the new guidelines enacted by the Common Council  had definitely brought inquiries about developing in White Plains to a standstill, saying the cold call inquiries to the city about projects had all but disappeared.

Paul Wood supported the grandfathering of affordable housing buyouts for stalled approved condominium projects in the city and  defended the 55 Bank Street land deal for a 20% Affordable Housing project, the city is attempting to salvage with the developer LCOR as making the most sense at the time

Wood spoke in referencing two projects, Windsor Terrace and the Bobker Hale and Maple Avenue condominiums.  Representatives from those two groups lobbied the Common Council that the new payments their clients owed since the Common Council changed the affordable housing set-aside/buyout benchmarks in April, had made the projects financially undoable in today’s market.

Windsor Terrace, now being developed by Rome Partners, originally approved in 2003, has seen its “buyout” payment escalate from $452,600 to $1.47 Million. Hale LLC Condominium saw its affordable housing buyout payment move from $920,000 to $2.6 Million, since its approval in 2005. Developers could have, however, fixed their buyout cost by paying it in advance, it should be noted.

For the record, in lieu of building actual affordable units, that now reach 10% level, a developer needs to pay into the affordable housing fund, $75,000 for a Studio, $150,000 for a One-Bedroom, $200,000 for a Two-Bedroom, and $240,000 for a Three Bedroom. The costs of building an individual apartment may exceed these levels, and certainly would now, according to both developers who blamed increased construction costs for making the new level of buyouts financially unworkable.

Wood  wanted to clarify that in the first editon of this story, , in his opinion, he, Wood, strongly urged the council to “grandfather in” those two groups, and return to the former buyout amounts, so those projects could begin. He wanted WPCNR to make it clear that the Mayor never said the council should “grandfather in” the two groups.

Wood said the jury was still out on  the new 10% legislation and buyout amounts in the new affordable housing legislation, and as of yet was not ready to recommend a rollback to lower percentages. He acknowledged that the lack of financing and state of financial markets had contributed to lack of development interest, but said that the 10% setaside and buyout amounts hurt White Plains compared to other city candidates for development such as Yonkers, Stamford, New Rochelle.

Bank Street Land Offer Made Sense at Time.

Wood, commenting on the LCOR 55 Bank Street request for a restructuring of the financial terms of the 55 Bank Street 20% affordable housing project which became known last week, said that the original sale of the land to LCOR made the most sense. It was not because they were a favored developer, but because LCOR needed the land for parking for the hotel they planned to build on the 5 Bank Street property (site of Bank Street Commons).  

Wood defended the installment nature of the $15.5 Million purchase price, because the Mayor’s Office was trying to get away from the policy of “one-shot” land sales to balance the budget that it had been criticized for in 2006 when Railside Avenue lots were sold.

So far, no one on the Common Council  and the Mayor’s Office has shown interest in taking the land back from LCOR for default on the June 30 payment.

LCOR expects to pay that $5.5 Million payment in September with financing from Lehman Brothers. It is not clear whether this is contingent on the city accepting LCOR’s proposal to redesign the project to one large building 28 stories high, one building 14 stories high, and parking structure, and finance and build them in sequence.

WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From Westchester County Board of Legislators. July 9, 2008: County lawmakers approved in a 12-4 vote a bond act in the amount of $5 million to purchase 450 Saw Mill River Road, an 85,000-square-foot building on 5.37 acres in Ardsley. Legislators also approved a separate bond act for $7 million to refurbish the site to a climate controlled environment suitable to storing the approximately 1,600 electronic voting machines, related equipment and ballots that the county will soon take ownership of to comply with federal and state law.

The county’s Board of Elections is under mandate to consolidate all of its electoral functions at the county level, including ownership, care, custody and control of voting machines, as part of the federal Help America to Vote Act (HAVA).

“This property offers the lowest cost per square foot of all the properties considered and is our best option,” said Alvarado, Chair of the Budget & Appropriations Committee that along with the Government Operations Committee conducted an exhaustive review of all the site options. “The purchase of this particular site has become even more attractive due to a reduction in the purchase price and the administration’s plan to use some of the space for the administrative headquarters for the Department of Public Safety.  Moving the headquarters to the Saw Mill River site will eliminate the need to build a new $9.5 million headquarters that is currently in the county’s capital plan.” 

“We’re out of time and we have a pressing decision to make. This site is simply the most prudent deal for Westchester taxpayers,” said County Legislator Ken Jenkins, Chair of the GO Committee. “It would be unfair to say we have not thoroughly investigated all options. We spent two years vetting options. We asked for and completed an RFP process that extended the invitation to any possible bidder in the county who wanted to propose a suitable property. There is significant concern from the state Board of Elections that we don’t have a facility in place. We are bound to act responsibly and comply with the law and this purchase fulfills that obligation. Incidentally, all cost benefit analysis aside, it makes sense to have such a heavy Public Safety presence on the site of a storage facility that must be secured to the highest degree possible.” 

Former B&A Committee Chair Michael Kaplowitz (D-IN-WF, Somers) said finding an appropriate HAVA site started during his tenure.  The planned dual function for 450 Saw Mill is what he considers a good example of what he terms “double duty” dollars.

“Clearly, it’s in best interest of our taxpayers to own, rather than rent. It’s also in taxpayers’ interest to buy one building instead of two. 450 Saw Mill River Road’s value rises by virtue of the fact that it will fulfill two pressing needs of the county for space.  By not having to spend $9 million to build a separate Public Safety Headquarters, taxpayers net a $750,000 annual savings in debt service,” Kaplowitz said. 

Legislators also authorized the county to enter into one or more intermunicipal agreements with the Ardsley Union Free School District whereby the county will commit to expending up to $1 million in capital funding on mutually agreed to projects that will serve a valid county purpose but also have an ancillary benefit to the school district.