WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL CHRONICLE-EXAMINER. MARCH 6, 2007, UPDATED 2:07 PM UPDATED MIDNIGHT, March 7, 2007: A spokesperson for the North Street Community, Geoffrey Thompson, told WPCNR that Alfred Caiola was pleased at the Common Council approval of the senior citizen residential zone legislation Monday evening. Thompson said the process took some time, but that the owner, Alfred Caiola said a lot of good had come out of the process. Thompson reports that the project next hurdle is the site plan approval. He said the North Street Community could not officially offer units before approval by the state, but that the project already had 100 persons expressing interest in the approximiately 330 senior condominium units envisioned for the St. Agnes Hospital site.
In a supplementary wrapup release issued Tuesday evening, Alfred Caiola, a partner of North Street Community LLC, the site’s owner/developer, said: “This vote is a win for the seniors of White Plains who will now have the opportunity to continue living in this city. Many of them had told us that they wanted the opportunity to downsize and live in a senior community in the city they love.”
The statement said the next step in the approval process will be the City Council’s review of the site plan that is expected to begin at the Council’s meeting in April. “We are very pleased with the Council’s support and look forward to completing the final stages of the review process,” Caiola said. “We plan on breaking ground within a few months of approval of the site plan.” Known as North Street Community, construction of the project will require about 20 months.
The modified development plan that the Council reviewed addressed the concerns of the immediate neighbors as well as the comments of elected officials. ”We re-designed the buildings, lowered the height, re-oriented their locations and sited them away from the property lines,” Caiola stated. In addition, additional medical offices were eliminated to reduce traffic.
The modifications to the plan include:
- Reducing the number of independent living units from 390 to 335.
- Raising the minimum age for buyers from 55 to 60.
- Substantially increasing the setback from the property line of the four independent living buildings. These planned buildings have been shifted toward the center of the property and away from adjacent properties.
- Situating the project’s two-story Community Center on the south end of the property, 75 feet from the property line. This will minimize any visual impact of the project on the adjacent Wyndham Close condominiums.
- Reducing the maximum height of residential buildings from seven to six stories.
- Reducing the total number of parking spaces on site from 1,200 to 987. As a result, peak hour traffic will be reduced by 16% in the morning and 19% in the afternoon. Under the new plan, doctors, staff and medical patients of the existing 82,000-square-foot 311 North Street medical office building will utilize designated parking spaces in one of the new garages planned for the site that will be accessed by valet parking service.
- Placing all but limited visitor parking in garages beneath new buildings.
- Demolishing the 26,300-square-foot medical office building at 303 North St. and replacing it with a partially underground three-level parking garage. The garage will be screened from the street with extensive new landscaping.
- Eliminating the 38,800 square feet of medical office space that had been proposed for inclusion in 305 North Street, the former St. Agnes hospital building.
- Adapting the 150,000-square-foot former hospital for 92 assisted living residents (84 one-bedroom, 8 two-bedroom) and approximately 20 Alzheimer’s units. These usages will result in fewer car trips and reduced parking that would have been generated by medical offices.
The 41,200-square-foot Carvel Children’s Rehabilitation Center built in 1996 will remain on the property. Parking for its staff will be increased from 95 to 105 spaces and incorporated into one of the sites new subsurface garages.
“This plan is the result of an extensive analysis of all aspects of the property—from its topography, to traffic access, to site and architectural design. We are excited to turn this vision into a reality for White Plains seniors and it will address a very strong demographic need,” Caiola stated. He added: “According to the U.S. Census Bureau, by the year 2010, at least 15% of the White Plains population will be over the age of 65. We’ll be ready for some of them.”
Last night the Common Council approved, as expected, by a 5-2 margin, the creation of a senior housing zone on the former St. Agnes Hospital property, despite warnings from the citizenry that establishment of such a district would establish a precedent leading to custom developing on other parcels throughout the city. Mayor Joseph Delfino, Councilpersons Glen Hockley, Arnold Bernstein, Rita Malmud, Benjamin Boykin voted in favor, while Councilpersons Dennis Power and Thomas Roach demurred.
The approval of the special zone, all but assures approval of the North Street Community project itself within the next few months, which will create about 330 luxury condominiums for persons over 60 years of age and over 100 assisted living units.
In other expected action, the Council also voted to purchase the Greico property in Woodcrest Heights for $1.6 Million, without specifically saying where the money would come from, preserving the strip of woodlands, long the target of developers. Members of the Greico family have been longtime contributors to the Mayor’s three campaigns for the Mayoralty.
The Council also extended permits to build The Metropolitan condominium project and the Bobker Group Condominium project planned for Maple Avenue for one year, also as expected.
