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WPCNR SOUTH END NEWS. From North Street Community (Edited with Reporting by WPCNR) November 7, 2007: Four  months after receiving Common Council approval for their 335-unit senior condominium development on the former St. Agnes property, which took them 2-1/2 years to get approved by the city,  North Street Community has begun evaluating  offers for the property for   partnerships and “joint ventures.”

The North Street Community Project as approved July, 2007. Construction was said to have planned for this fall at the time..

“There’s so much interest in White Plains, you’d be surprised how much interest there has been,” media spokesperson Geoffrey Thompson told WPCNR Wednesday. He said the offers came from niche firms and health care provider service firms who might join the partnership in developing the property, according to a news release issued Wednesday. Selling the entire property with its approved site plan to one buyer has not been ruled out. Thompson said when asked if selling it all to one buyer, Thompson said  “It could be a possibility. ”

The property was originally purchased at auction from the New York State Dormitory Authority for $21.5 Million. Approximately $3 Million has been spent, WPCNR believes in developing the site plan and obtaining approval.

 

The release announced “strong interest from potential investors, joint-venture partners and operators of senior oriented housing has lead the owners of The North Street Community to engage….Cushman & Wakefield  to help us evaluate these interests.”

Thompson said the owners had not encountered troubles in financing the construction of the massive project.

Slew of Offers. All Things Considered.

Thompson said ground-breaking is going to be in the spring, because the group  had to complete a series of tasks and submissions, and  plans for the city prior to start of construction that  have “lost the weather.”

In the meantime, Thompson said the partners, since their approval in July, had received  “a slew” of proposals from health care provider companies “unsolicited”. Thompson said any recommendations by Cushman & Wakefield could be in the form of a “joint venture,” with a firm perhaps purchasing one part of the project, or the rights to run it, or  either the 82,000 square foot medical office piece, residential (335-unit senior condominium), or medical facilities (92 assisted living units, and 20-units for Alzheimer’s disease.

WPCNR asked Thompson if that could conceivably be an offer from one firm to purchase the entire property. Thompson said “that might be possible.”  He said that’s what Cushman & Wakefield is being retained to do, sort out the most appealing offers.

A Change of Heart

WPCNR had asked C.J. Follini when the project was approved in July if the group now that it had the project approved would consider selling the parcel with the approved site plan, and Follini had vowed that they had believed in the project, the need for it in the city,  and would build it themselves.

In the news release Wednesday,  North Street partner Alfred Caiola, one of Follini’s partners issued this statement: “Rather than deal with these inquiries in a piecemeal fashion, we’ve decided to bring in experts with the experience and understanding to assist and advise us…we always anticipated bringing in a skilled company to operate the assisted living and Alzheimer’s facilities; however, during the two-and-a-half-year approval process, many companies expressed interest in various other aspects of the project. As we focus on completing the details of the construction plans, it made sense for us to bring in experts (Cushman & Wakefield Senior Housing and Healthcare Group), to help us evaluate these interests.”

Cushman & Wakefield is expected to make recommendations as to the best offers and proposals.

The 335 condominiums were originally reported by the firm a year ago as being priced from $400,000 to $900,000 each.

The firm has spent millions in addition to its purchase price in obtaining the approval for the site plan, in addition to the $21.5 Million it paid the New York State Dormitory Authority for the property when it bought the 23-acre site at auction in December, 2004.

 

 

 

WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2007. By John F. Bailey. November 7, 2007: Celebrating their “No Contest” win over spirited challenges from six other candidates, Councilman Benjamin Boykin, Councilman Dennis Power and Councilwoman-Elect,  Milagros Lecuona talked with WPCNR last night about their steamrollering of the opposition in Tuesday’s city election, which seemed to prove emphatically that the city by a margin of 2 to 1 likes everything that is happening in the city and everything Democratic.

Mr. Power said the triple sweep meant that the 5 vote majority could push legislation, though the Democrats have held a majority for the last eight years of the Delfino Administration. He and Boykin said the 1/2 % sales tax, the 10% affordable housing set aside legislation would be two top priorities.

WPCNR interviewed the three Council-Elects:

Ms. Lecuona, a U.S. Citizen for justf two years, told WPCNR,  “I am just happy. I think we did wonderful teamwork and we are going to be bringing that teamwork to the Common Council. It has been a wonderful campaign, transparent, clean, positive and that’s the way we are going to continue.”

 

 

 

Asked how she was going to prepare herself for taking a seat on the Council in January, Lecuona said she was going to continue doing what she had been doing, “still coming to the public hearings, and reading all the material I can get my hands on. Learning. Learning.”

Asked what issue right now she and her colleagues were going to focus on. “We have a month and a half in front of us and we need to get together and see.”

WPCNR asked her if she ever thought many years ago (she has been in White Plains for 18 years) she would ever be elected to office. “I have been always involved with the community. This is another level. It was not like I was thinking about this particularly, but things progressed and when you are ready for something, then you do it. And I was ready to do the next step and that’s what I did.”

I asked who suggested she try for the council: “I got this suggestion from so many people you don’t have an idea in many different ways. And it was me that made the decision when I thought I was ready.”

I asked her how she thought the council might tackle the Equalization Rate problem, the budget, she said, “There are many things that need to be studied, studied as a team, and that’s where we are right now with a budget.”

I asked when they might study it, perhaps earlier : “ I have to hear what each of us (say) I am the newcomer.That question makes more sense for someone who has already been elected who should know, depending on the transparency  of the Common Council as to how much they know. For me, one of the priorities is going to work as hard as possible to get those hard numbers on the table.”

Asked if she had a statement for the people of White Plains, Lecuona said, “Thank you very much. I’m there for them. I’m going to be working very hard listening and thank you  from my heart.

Mr. Power, the leading vote getter said, “I’m glad we had a clean sweep tonight, got a lot of hard work ahead  but it’s a good victory for the people of White Plains.”

I asked Power if there was anything he and Mr. Boykin since they were already on Council, were going to be looking at right off the bat:  “We’re going to revisit a number of issues, I think, working together as colleagues, there’s a lot of things we’ve spoken about during the campaign in terms of balanced approach to development,  in terms of tax situations, in terms of neighborhoods, in terms of open space – those are things we’re just going to revisit and put some teeth around them in terms of initiative.”

White Plains FEMA Fumble An Issue.

I asked Power about the news of FEMA excluding White Plains from flood insurance due to non-compliance with the DEC. Power said, “Obviously that’s a very serious matter. It has to be investigated right away we have to see the connection and what we put on the agenda for December. We knew there were some deadlines coming but they were dealing with the state and county stuff. So now, if this in fact, comes about to be there was a deadline the administration was aware of and didn’t act on and did not let us know about it on the Common Council, this will add to the list of things that’s happening. There’s going to a change in terms of communication.”

I brought up the Equalization Rate drop and what he made of it, any thoughts:  “Even if it’s closely or remotely connected in terms of the ramifications of it it could be a major move, with major implications for the city of White Plains. The number one thing is to make sure we’re fighting that thing which we haven’t done in years is done. We have to examine what’s got to be done. After that we have to examine because everything comes through the cost side of the budget…”

I asked would this be done in public? “I would imagine so. Some of the things are done with the Corporation Counsel  and Mayor alone. But we have to approach more things in a public way. There’s no matter of discussing things in a back room and coming out and saying sorry.”

I asked about the Mayor run in 2009: “That’s two years away. Right now we’re talking about getting some things done legislatively for the people of White Plains.”

I asked if this win felt better than his first election to the Common Council in 1987:  “That was a very different one, that was an upset victory. This one is special because this gives us the ability to do things legislatively to do things that Mary Ann Keenan and I were unable to do back in 1988. This now gives us opportunity to push forward legislative agenda that we think are important. Obviously sales tax. It’s centerpiece discussion, now with some feedback from Adam Bradley. There’s a lot of things that need to be discussed.”

I wondered  if he had thought about  balanced development, had he further defined it. He had not, but  he said, “You’re talking about decisions being made. That was a front-burner during the campaign, it will remain a front burner going forward. It’s not a matter of sitting back and saying what will developers offer us for downtown White Plains.”

Councilman Boykin echoed that “This was a great victory for the people of White Plains. The people have spoken. I’m very pleased and humbled they have given me another four years in office.  For me personally, it is a very sweet victory because I was the target of a small group at each debate, at each quoram. But I stood on my record and am proud of my record. I am proud to serve everyone in this city.”

I asked what he was going to be concentrating on in the weeks ahead.  He said the council would be taking the sales tax half percent increase up November 20, and the council would deal with that. He also said there was the affordable housing issue that he said was “being research now,” and that he wanted to bring that to a vote. “We want to get the workforce housing to be built owed to us by Cappelli. We want that to come on stream as soon as possible. And other quality of life issues and issues relating to development that we will deal with in this city.”

I asked Mr. Boykin if he had concerns about the lowered Equalization Rate and whether he, as Chair of the Budget and Management Committee would be taking up the budget earlier this year. “I’ve heard about it. We will be looking at the budget through budget and management and other avenues and we will be soon having a budget and management meeting to address a lot of issues. We have a lot of issues to deal with – an update on sales tax. It looks like we’re going to be very good on the sales tax.”

Any concern about the 2.69% Equalization Rate, I asked.  Boykin said, “I haven’t gotten it from the city. We’ll take a look at it.”

Liz Shollenberger, the Chair of the Democratic City Committee said the Democratic victory, sweeping 42 of 43 districts, one not reporting, with a vote majority of 2 to 1, was “The better candidates definitely won the election this time. This was a victory of compassion over meanspiritedness. A victory for people who know and really care about the citizens of White Plains.”

Schollenberger declined to talk about the Mayoral race two years from now. She said, “I hope our party will continue to grow strong. I hope we win the presidency next year.”

Schollenberger said the City Democratic Party is growing, saying we have a thousand more voters county wide.  She complimented the candidates:  “We were a team effort all through the campaign, through the nominations, the primary, the general elections. Every one worked very well together. I think that’s what contributed to the victory. We weren’t fighting with each other we were fighting with the White Plains gadflies and everyone else.”