WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER SETS RECORD VISITS FOR YEAR 7,017,658 VISITS! 2,098,003 VISITORS MADE 6 VISITS A DAY EVERY DAY. 63,330 UNIQUE VISITORS MADE 133,730 VISITS IN DECEMBER. WPCNR AVERAGED 17,284 VISITORS A WEEK, VISITING 31,270 TIMES.

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WPCNR EAST SIDE STORY. From Urstadt-Biddle Properties. July 4, 2015:

In April Urstadt-Biddle Properties announced in a news release they were attempting to sell the White Plains Pavilion mall on Maple Avenue, adjacent the Crowne Plaza Hotel. The news release reads:

Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc. (the “Company”) (NYSE: UBA and UBP), a real estate investment trust, announced today that it has entered into a contract to sell its Westchester Pavilion Property located in White Plains, NY (“Pavilion”). The purchaser is Maple and Broadway Holdings, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lennar Corporation through its Lennar Multi-Family Communities, LLC subsidiary (“Lennar”) (NYSE:LEN). Operating in twenty-one states, Lennar is one of the country’s largest homebuilders. The Pavilion is a 190,000 square foot retail shopping center located in White Plains, New York (Westchester County). In November 2014, the City of White Plains approved the Company’s request to change the zoning of the property to allow its development as a mixed-use property containing residential apartments above ground level retail and restaurant uses. The contract contains several contingencies that need to be satisfied in order for the transaction to close, and there is the possibility it may not close.

If all contingencies are satisfied, the Company expects the transaction to close at the end of fiscal 2015 or early fiscal 2016.

Commenting on the contract, Willing L. Biddle, UBP’s President and Chief Executive Officer said,

“Our Company has owned the Pavilion since the 2002. The property was originally a three story department store that, prior to our ownership, was converted to the retail shopping center it is today. Over the years, the property has become less competitive in the market-place. Its current configuration and condition prompted the Company to explore whether there might be a higher and better use for the site.

About two years ago, we began the process of petitioning the City of White Plains for a zoning change to permit the demolition of the buildings and the construction of a dynamic mixed use development containing a mixture of apartments and retail/restaurants. The City of While Plains and in particular Mayor Tom Roach were welcoming and supportive of our efforts and approved the zone change in November, 2014.

During the approval process we met with several prestigious development companies to consider as partners in the development – the plan being that UBP would own the retail/restaurant portion and our partner would own the residential portion.

As time went by it became more apparent that a better structure for our Company was an out-right sale of the property to a more experienced mixed-use developer and that developer was Lennar. We will continue to work closely with Lennar through the remainder of the approval process, which includes, among other things, site plan approval. The Company is in the process of resolving the remaining contingencies to permit a closing.”

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WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER. JULY 2, 2015:

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WPCNR COMMON COUNCIL-CHRONICLE EXAMINER.By John F. Bailey JUNE 29, 2015:

In discussion last night that began with the city consultant and advisor Susan Habel, former City Planning Commissioner in attendance,  three Councilpersons,Council President John Martin, Councilwoman Nadine Hunt-Robinson and Mayor Roach himself, in addition to Councilpersons Milagros Lecuona and Dennis Krolian expressed doubts about the project that their analysis of the 200 page document raised.

The process to resolve those questions to the Council satisfaction, including Mayor Tom Roach could involve another question and answer session either behind closed doors or in public. 

Corporation Counsel John Callahan told WPCNR it was up to the Common Council to decide on how they wanted to proceed to get the answers to those questions whether from FASNY or the city legal counsel on the project.

Councilwoman Milagros Lecuona,  steady opponent of the efficacy of The French American School of New York proposal to build a school campus on the grounds of the former Ridgeway Golf Club, raised the issue of whether the school had the financial resources to build the project, given extensive revisions to the Storm Water drainage system required by the new storm water plan approved by former Commissioner of Public Works, Joseph Nicoletti.

She told WPCNR after the meeting, the delay in approval of the storm water plan was due to new environmental storm water regulations promulgated last fall, which the administration she told me did not tell the Common Council. Lecuona strongly disagreed with Councilman John Kirkpatrick who said it was time to move on and that change has to come. She bluntly turned to him and said though Kirkpatrick said the city had gotten a lot from FASNY through the plan changes already negotiated, she did not believe FASNY had given up enough. ” We got bigger buildings.Less open space. I would have liked to seen the buildings smaller. The proposal has not been mitigated enough.” 

Lecuona in addition said that the amount of money FASNY was going to pay for the taking of a portion of Hathaway Lane was not spelled out and it should be. She added that she has yet to see a model or rendering of the plan in detail that gave her a good idea of the sightlines and what the project would actually look like in proportion and location. She mocked Kirkpatrick’s expressing the city could lose litigation if they did not approve the projec. She said “We need to ask what we think is right.“

Councilman Dennis Krolian declined to ask any questons of the city legal consultant or Ms. Habel. He told WPCNR that he did not want to ask his legal counsel on the project legal opinion in a public televised meeting, since this would be giving up future right to attorney-client privilege. He said the original intent of this meeting was to enable the council to ask questions of the legal counsel and Ms. Habel. He felt the meeting should not have been public.

Council President John Martin had what he called technical questions.  His main concern was the length of time before the EMERGENCY entrance off Ridgeway (not North Street as previously reported )proposed by the plan was completed was too long. He expressed safety concerns about the emergency entrance for public safety vehicles off Ridgeway. He pointed out that the amount of time the new emergency entrance off Ridgeway would be open to the public should be 6 AM to 6 PM, 365 days a year from the Hathaway Lane side and Ridgeway, in an email clarifying his comment, he wrote WPCNR:  “All of the comments you noted I made were in relation to the petition to close a portion of Hathaway. My 6am to 6pm request is for opening their Emergency Access Driveway (generally the Hathaway access area) to the public on all 365 days of the year. I have no preference as to when anybody visits the Conservancy!”

Councilwoman Beth Smayda who did not arrive until 6: 15 P.M. (meeting beganat 5:30), had very brief comments that could not be picked up by this reporter because the chamber was not adequately microphoned. 

Councilwoman Nadine Hunt-Robinson said she was not sure that the safety concerns had been fully answered and fit the parameters of a decision in a case involving Cornell University that spelled out that safety concerns had to be  more than adequately mitigated, that any project could not be less safe than it was before the project was built.

Queried about this fine line of mitigation by Councilman Krolian, as to whether she felt the FASNY legislation and mitigation steps met this standard,Councilwoman Hunt-Robinson said, “My feeling is it has not.” 

The Mayor, in a surprise,  expressed doubts as to how the project could proceed without impacting the neighborhood adversely for years. He felt that four years of construction for the first phase was too long especially with a second phase to follow.

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WPCNR THE AGONY OF THE RECOVERY. From the First Niagara Bank Leadership Conversation Series. June27, 2015

The transformation of the suburban real estate market and its economy over the next 20 years will entail repurposing office space with a smart combination of healthcare uses, residential and light retail, a leading commercial developer told an audience of more than 100 business leaders at the Business Council of Westchester’s First Niagara Bank Leadership Conversations Series this week.

Joseph Simone, President and CEO of Simone Development Companies, said Westchester must modernize its antiquated office parks — particularly along the I-287 corridor – and repurpose existing buildings to reflect significant shifts and consolidations in the healthcare industry; changing housing needs for young professionals that are near public transportation and advances in new technologies.

“The suburbs are going to be repurposed for other, higher and better uses,” Simone said. “Things have to be done way more efficiently.”

Simone’s remarks were part of fascinating 45-minute interview between Simone and Business Council CEO Marsha Gordon. Topics discussed included Simone’s role in creating with the first “bedless” hospital with Montefiore Health Systems; his company’s plans to transform the Boyce Thompson property in Yonkers and the explosive growth of New York City’s outer boroughs that will no doubt lead to opportunities for Westchester’s urban centers, notably Yonkers, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle and White Plains. Referring to the urban centers, he said, “That’s where young people are going to live. But you have to provide public transportation.”

Simone knows of what he speaks. Simone Development Companies is a full-service real estate investment company that owns and manages more than 5 million square feet of property in Westchester, the Bronx, Queens, Long Island and Connecticut.

Under Simone’s visionary leadership, the company has been in the forefront of partnering with major healthcare providers to create turnkey ambulatory medical facilities in the New York metropolitan area, with over 2 million square feet of new healthcare and medical office space currently built or in development.

In Westchester, Simone Development recently completed a state-of-the-art medical office building for WESTMED Medical Group at the Purchase Professional Park; it is the first new office building to be constructed on the I-287 corridor in more than 25 years. Simone Development earlier this month broke ground on an innovative project that will transform the former Boyce Thompson horticultural complex in Yonkers into a modern mixed-use development featuring professional offices, medical space, retail stores, bank and restaurants.

During the conversation, Simone cited significant changes and monumental shifts that are happening in the healthcare industry that are creating a need for more efficient systems. The great news, he added, was that these changes are going to create new jobs and opportunities, and necessitate colleges and universities train students for careers in healthcare. He said these advances will reverberate into throughout the economy.

In describing why his visionary approach to real estate development has worked so well, Simone said: “It’s about fulfilling a need. If you fulfill people’s need, you will be successful.”

View a brief segment here.

“Joe Simone’s vision and approach are fascinating and we appreciate that he shared his insight with our members,” Gordon said. “It’s clear that he is playing a key role in transforming the New York Metropolitan real estate market now and for years to come.”