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Click here to view the plan application submitted on 7/10/07. (pdf)
THE PLAN
New Plan for Chappaqua Crossing Incorporates
Community Goals for Maintaining Commercial Tax Base
and Meeting Identified Housing Needs
Plan Reduces Density and Height of Residential Component With
20% Affordable Housing for Active Adults, Town Workers and Volunteers
Summit/Greenfield has proposed a new plan for the creation of an age-restricted (55+) residential development including a significant affordable housing component for Chappaqua Crossing, the former Reader's Digest property in the Chappaqua section of the Town of New Castle.
The new plan calls for construction of 278 units of age-restricted and workforce housing of which 222 would be senior age-restricted market-rate housing; 32 would be affordable "workforce" housing units for municipal employees and emergency service volunteers and 24 affordable age-restricted units. The housing would be built on 64.3 acres that would be zoned Multifamily Planned Development (MFPD).
The new plan, which was submitted to the New Castle Town Board at its July 10 meeting, offers many additional benefits to the community including:
- Contributing significantly to the Town's legal obligation to provide its "fair share " allocation of affordable housing
- Donation of a 2-acre parcel for municipal use along Roaring Brook Road
- Providing traffic improvements along Bedford and Roaring Brook Roads
- More than doubling the current tax revenue generated from the property
- Preserving 520,000 square feet of office use
- Furthering the goals of the Westchester County Greenway Compact Plan, which the Town recently adopted
- Preservation of 50 acres of open space or more than 40 percent of the total 113.7-acre site
- Minimizing the impact on local schools as children will be prohibited from residing in all of the age-restricted units
- Creating a premier senior age-restricted housing development to meet the local and regional demand for such housing
Plan Uses Existing Multifamily Planned Development District
The new development plan comes eight months after the Town Board refused to proceed with the approval process for a 348-unit age-restricted senior housing plan that would have required that the Town create an entirely new zone.
"The fact that we are proposing to use the Town's existing MFPD District is a major difference from our earlier plan," said Felix Charney, President of Summit Development, whose company is developing the plan in partnership with Greenfield Partners. "We have listened carefully to the many ideas and comments that have come from Town officials, the general public and neighbors. We believe that this plan significantly reduces density, precludes significant impact on Chappaqua schools and preserves the overall appearance of the site by providing a substantial open space perimeter buffer."
He continued: "But most importantly, it directly addresses the needs of the Town for affordable housing for both adults 55 and older and members of the workforce who otherwise cannot afford to live in Chappaqua. Further, it meets the Town's desire to fully utilize the limited number of properties it has that are designated for commercial use. And, as a bonus, it gives the Town a chance to gain at no cost an excellent site for municipal use."
Compared to an earlier plan, the new submission:
- Reduces by 20 percent the total number of proposed housing units, from 348 to 278 and reduces the number of senior age-restricted market rate units by more than 35 percent
- Reduces the height of the proposed new buildings from a maximum of five stories to three
- Diversifies the housing options available in the Town by providing 56 "affordable" units - 24 for active adults and 32 for municipal employees and others meeting Westchester County income limits
- Conforms to the Town's zoning and master plan
- Minimizes impact on school student population as 88 percent of the proposed residences will have permanent deed restrictions stipulating the minimum age of buyers and prohibiting children under 18 as permanent residents
Of the 278 proposed residences, 234 will be single-floor condominium apartments to be constructed in eight three-story buildings, all with resident parking beneath or within the buildings. The 44 townhouses are arranged in clusters of 10 and 12, and each will have internal garages.
Affordable Housing for Town Residents and Employees
The 24 affordable units for active adults will be mixed among the other active adult residences in the three-story buildings, all of which will have two bedrooms. The 32 affordable workforce units will be located in two 16-unit buildings, each with parking on the ground floor. Of these, 10 will offer three bedrooms and 22, two bedrooms. The affordable units will be priced according to Westchester County affordable housing guidelines. They will be offered under a lottery system and will be first made available to Town residents, employees and emergency service volunteers meeting the income limitations.
The new development will be confined to two areas of the property. Four of the three-story buildings containing 170 units will be built within the "North Village" to the north of the former Reader's Digest office buildings in areas now occupied by parking lots. The other four three-story buildings containing 64 units will be built within the "East Village" to the west of the internal residential access road that will link the existing card-accessed driveway entrance from Roaring Brook Road. The 44 two-story townhouses will be built opposite them along the east side of the internal road, also within the East Village.
Land on Roaring Brook Road to be Made Available for Municipal Uses
The cluster of housing that the previous plan proposed for the Roaring Brook Road side of the property has been eliminated. The new plan provides for making available for municipal uses -- such as police, fire and ambulance services -- approximately two acres that are now residential lots on Roaring Brook Road that Summit/Greenfield has an option to purchase from Reader's Digest.
"We are making this valuable land available to the Town for whatever municipal purpose it selects," Mr. Charney said. "We know that there are many needs within the Town, and this property will provide an excellent centrally located, easily-accessed property for whatever specific use or uses the Town identifies."
Plan Features Extensive Open Space
The new development proposal provides for a 40-acre permanent open space buffer around the perimeter of the property. This includes the meadow area along Cowdin Lane and Bedford Road (Route 117). An additional ten acres of interior gardens, lawns and landscaped areas will also be available for use and enjoyment by residents and office workers at Chappaqua Crossing.
The 113.7-acre site is bordered to the west by the Saw Mill Parkway and MetroNorth's Harlem Line, to the south by Roaring Brook Road, to the east by Bedford Road (Route 117) and to the east and north by the Cowdin Lane neighborhood.
A total of 49.4 acres containing the former Reader's Digest office buildings would remain commercially zoned. The plan calls for the demolition of approximately 180,000 square feet of existing commercial space, leaving approximately 520,000 square feet of existing office facilities including the Reader's Digest-leased space.
Help Address Town's Affordable Housing Goals
New Castle holds a unique place in New York State with respect to providing affordable housing. The landmark Berenson Decision of 1975 involved the Town of New Castle's lack of zoning for an array of housing. The decision by New York State's highest court, the Court of Appeals, held that "the primary goal of a zoning ordinance must be to provide for the development of a balanced, cohesive community which will make efficient use of the town's available land." The decision said that the concern is whether the town "will be balanced and integrated."
The Berenson Decision, which involved the late developer Mitchell Berenson, today serves as a key legal underpinning in efforts to assure that suburban communities provide for a variety of housing styles and prices. Berenson was represented by Stuart Shamberg of the Mount Kisco-based law firm of Shamberg Marwell Davis and Hollis, the same firm representing Summit/Greenfield in its new submission.
"In the 37 years since the Berenson Decision, New Castle has not kept pace with meeting its own or Westchester County's affordable housing goals. In fact, the Town's Housing Advisory Committee is currently inactive and one of its biggest obstacles is that they can't identify appropriate sites for the housing. Fortunately, we are perfectly situated to accommodate a significant affordable component for both working families and seniors at our site. Adding 56 affordable units would certainly make a sizeable dent in the town's current unmet quota of 255 units," Mr. Charney said.
Seeks Elimination of Multi-Tenant Restriction
The plan also seeks a variance to eliminate the restrictions on the square footage and the number of tenants who can lease space in the remaining commercial space in the Reader's Digest office buildings, one of the town's few commercial office sites. The Town currently restricts the use to a maximum of three tenants and a total of 171,000 square feet of space in addition to Reader's Digest. Summit/Greenfield maintains that the Town's restriction on the number of tenants and the amount of space that can be leased is an artificial barrier that is preventing the building from being fully utilized.
Mr. Charney said today's office market is largely driven by companies with small to mid-sized space requirements in the 5,000 -15,000 square-foot range. "The office market has changed drastically over the last 30 years and the number of large single space users has dropped to a handful. There is no rational basis to restrict our ability to fully utilize the Reader's Digest buildings. The Town clearly benefits from increased tax revenues if the buildings are fully occupied, something Town officials have repeatedly said they would like to see," he said.
He noted that with the lifting of the tenant restrictions and the creation of the new housing, Summit/Greenfield would demolish 180,000 square feet of existing office facility and forfeit its right to build an additional 300,000 square feet of commercial office/laboratory space on the site.
The Reader's Digest property became home to the world-famous publishing company in 1939. Over the ensuing decades the company expanded the building until it reached its current size in the 1980s. Drastic changes in the publishing industry, however, led the company to consolidate its operations and its need for office space diminished to the point where it needed only a fraction of the existing space, most of which is now vacant.
Summit/Greenfield purchased the property from Reader's Digest in December 2004. Summit/Greenfield was selected by Reader's Digest from among hundreds of prospective buyers because of its award-winning experience in successfully redeveloping properties, sensitivity to the property and its financial strength.
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