The detailing on the roof overhang is really aesthetically pleasing and will certainly fit in well in the area. There was another building constructed not too long ago (you can actually see it in the image, far right) and it doesn’t fit in at all imo. This should be a great addition to the area.
Amazon Island? New Rochelle makes pitch for company’s new HQ
Source - October 18th, 2017
NEW ROCHELLE - Could a dormant island near the shores of Long Island Sound or available land in this city’s downtown core attract Amazon to build its $5 billion headquarters in Westchester County?
City officials think New Rochelle has what it takes to lure Seattle-based Amazon, which announced last month it was seeking a second headquarters estimated to cost $5 billion to build and operate that could bring up to 50,000 jobs.
The city submitted a 44-page document highlighting the various amenities it feels it can offer Amazon before Thursday’s deadline for HQ2 proposals, and a less detailed version was separately sent to Westchester County as part of its large-scale bid that includes Yonkers, Somers and White Plains.
“What we have is not only what New Rochelle has to offer, but what the tri-state area has to offer,” said Development Commissioner Luiz Aragon. “What we’re offering them is access to the region without really having to be within the boundaries of New York City.”
New Rochelle is proposing two locations — the downtown core and Davids Island — for Amazon to develop. Through the city’s Master Development Agreement with developer RXR Realty, Amazon could build more than 8.6 million square feet on four downtown parcels currently occupied by mainly parking lots and garages. Zoning allows for high-rises between 28 and 48 stories, Aragon said.
Aragon said there are several aspects New Rochelle can offer that set it apart from the hundreds of cities nationwide vying for HQ2. Those include its Arts, Culture & Technology (ACT) District in the downtown, the city’s 90-day review process for approving buildings in the downtown overlay zone and its proximity to New York City via car or train, he said.
He said the city’s three colleges — Iona, Monroe and College of New Rochelle — plus the plethora of universities in the region gives New Rochelle an unmatched talent pool.
The downtown sites are all within a seven-minute walk to the city’s transit center, Aragon said. That ties with the city’s master development plan, which could add one million square feet of retail, 2.4 million square feet of office space, 1,200 hotel rooms and nearly 6,400 residential units, said RXR Executive Vice President Seth Pinsky.
“If you look at what high-growth businesses are looking for today, it’s really to be in a mixed-use environment," Pinsky said. “They want to be in places where they can attract a talented workforce, where that talent can entertain itself before and after work hours, and that’s the vision that we have for downtown New Rochelle.”
Davids Island would be packaged as a “recreational” incentive, but not where Amazon offices would be built, Aragon said. The 78-acre island, formerly a U.S. Army base, has been inactive since 1965 and sits empty about 3,000 feet from the shoreline. The city is offering it as an option for the company to refurbish as park land and become “Amazon Island” for Amazon employees and New Rochelle residents, he said.
“We added that as a recreational option because very few municipalities are going to be able to offer downtown properties and at the same time be able to provide an amazing open space experience right on the water,” Aragon said. “It’s creating an amenity for the public.”
New Rochelle offers tax incentives through its Industrial Development Agency, but New York State will put together a single package of incentives — tax breaks and other taxpayer-backed funds — that will be available to Amazon if they pick any proposal in the state, according to Empire State Development, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s economic development branch
City officials are confident it can contend for Amazon based on past experiences, Aragon said. He said the city was a finalist for the new General Electric Co. headquarters, which ultimately went to downtown Boston.
Amazon will select and announce the winning bid sometime in 2018, according to its request for proposals.
“We really focused on the substance of the proposal and on the value that we can offer," Aragon said. “We have the developer, we have the support. We’re ready to go. Shovels can be in the ground without any obstacles.”
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Amazon is asking for 5 million square feet of office space, and New Rochelle is offering 2.4 million square feet…
NR is offering 8.6 msf. They must have some parcels which they’re keeping out of the RDRXR plan.
I think ithe cities of Westchester should have done a joint proposal. I don’t think Amazon will be wooed by an individual fringe city, and the mayors of the big 3 have shown they are willing to cooperate on development matters. Still NR or the other Westchester cities could be one of the dark horses I mentioned in the HQ2 thread.
There is a massive pool of talent, good public transit and space.
edit: from what I’ve read there was indeed a joint proposal, however NR sent one of its own.
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the artist apartment building has been approved
NEW ROCHELLE - The city Planning Board Tuesday approved site plans for an apartment building intended for artists only.
NewRo Studios, a six-story, 73-unit building is the latest approval for the “Burling Triangle,” a portion of land between Burling Lane and Interstate 95.
[…]
Hammel said in August that plans for the building at 11, 15 and 19 Burling Ln. include the 73 studio apartments below market rate, a rooftop music performance space, an art gallery lobby and 3,000 square feet of artist work space in the basement.
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Great addition, excellent design. I’m so happy that the Hammel team is continuing to contribute to and improve the area.
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the proposed 14-story tower to be built into 251 North Avenue is approved:
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Not a huge fan of Cappelli as a developer. His history is rocky with New Rochelle and a lot of people don’t like him due to it. Personally, I just don’t like the project, it looks odd and it’s just a weird shape. I don’t think it’ll fit well in the area. Maybe it’s the colors that were chosen, but I’m just not really interested.
The site where the tower will be has been cleared out for quite some time now, so technically whenever they get the approval of any deals or loans, they could start right away. The tower is actually located at 76 LeCount Place.
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Thanks for the rendering. I actually do like it. Good infill. It’ll look less out of place if/when neighboring lots are developed and form a nice streetwall!
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Thank you for the nice comments. We are very excited about this project. It will play a vital part in bringing the arts and character to all of our developments in the immediate area.
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NewRo Studios will play an instrumental part in bringing the arts and character to the immediate neighborhood.
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You know this forum is starting to become big when actual devellopers are starting to comment on it!
Welcome !
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REW: In New Rochelle, the strategy is: if you zone it they will come
RXR plans to break ground on its second project, a dual-tower 28-story project that will replace a parking garage just south of Main Street, next year.
Although RXR had something of an inside track, Bramson said most of the developments that have come as a result of the revitalization plan have come from other companies. In total, the city has seen about a dozen project crop up since 2016, he said.
Bramson said the city is on pace to meet its 10-year buildout goal but added there is a slight sense of urgency to take advantage of the current, development-friendly economic cycle.
“The sooner the better,” he said. “We realize the pace of progress depends on the national economy and other factors beyond our control and development is likely to wax and wane over the course of the next decade.
“We’re aware that there are windows of opportunities and we have no way of knowing how long they’ll remain opened.”
One of the pre-ordained tradeoffs for development is a mandatory contribution to the city’s “Fair Share Mitigation Fund,” a pot of money used to fix roads, expand schools and make other necessary adjustments to offset new development and growth. The contribution each developer makes is determined by a formula that focuses primarily on the size of the development but also provides discounts to early investors.
[…]
Developers who want build beyond what is allowed within the new zoning can do so by financing other community benefits, such as affordable housing, historic preservation and municipal parking.
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lohud: New Rochelle couple designs map to track city’s development progress
NEW ROCHELLE - Driving around downtown from their home on North Avenue, Karen and John Hessel began to lose track of the many ongoing development projects in the city.
“You’ll read an article about a development or hear about a meeting, but then you don’t know if it was the same building they mentioned last week,” said Karen Hessel, a data and demographic specialist at a commercial realty company. “It gets a little confusing with the addresses.”
So the Hessels decided to put New Rochelle’s active development projects — all 13 of them — in one place.
They created “New Rochelle Rising,” an interactive map and catalog that documents the progress of each project.
“Everything is always so piecemeal, so now we’re trying to put it all together," said John Hessel, a prep school history teacher who handles the website’s coding.
The map is simple to use. Click or tap on a pinpoint and a sidebar appears with the project’s name, a brief description of what it will be and a link that redirects the user to a separate page. That link includes a rendering of the selected development and links to media coverage.
The Hessels have also been documenting the progress the past six months by taking photos of each site once per month.
Users of the map will also notice pink outlines, which designate the city’s elementary school districts. Karen Hessel, a former Parent Teacher Association member with children in the district, said the goal of the lines is to show how the developments will impact the city’s already-overcrowded student population.
“Our schools are very crowded,” she said. “We wanted the stakeholders, like the Board of Ed members and the school district, to just be aware visually of where these buildings are coming and how they’re going to impact the schools.”
Since releasing the website earlier this month, the Hessels said they have received positive feedback from school officials and Mayor Noam Bramson.
“Karen and John have done a real service to the community by putting together such an comprehensive, user-friendly guide to New Rochelle’s ongoing development efforts," Bramson said in an email. “It’s a great way for the public to keep track of the positive changes downtown, and a reflection of the high level of interest in the city’s growth and evolution.”
John Hessel said he hopes the map will provide evidence of the city’s transformation to perhaps attract retailers, restaurateurs and more developers.
“It’s going to be really interesting to see how this all plays out," Karen Hessel said. “We’re excited about it because New Rochelle’s on the rise – figuratively and literally."
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lohud: New Rochelle: More developments slated for downtown
NEW ROCHELLE - Two more downtown developments are scheduled to break ground in 2018, bringing the city’s number of planned projects to nearly 15.
A proposed seven-story apartment building at 10 Commerce Drive, off Renewal Place, was approved by the city Planning Board this week.
The 1.2-acre site is currently occupied by a two-story, 36,000-square-foot office building, which will be demolished to make way for the new development. It sits behind The Printhouse, a six-story, 71-unit mixed-use building by that broke ground in mid-August that will feature studio, one- and two-bedroom rental homes.
A rendering of a development at 10 Commerce Drive in New Rochelle, approved by the Planning Board Dec. 19.
10 Commerce Drive in New Rochelle on Dec. 21, 2017.The 10 Commerce project, by Manhattan-based BRP Development, will consist of 172 residential units; 117 one-bedrooms and 55 two-bedrooms. It will feature 157 parking spaces on the interior of the first two floors, with living spaces wrapping the garage. An outdoor courtyard will sit in the middle of the third level. Projected rent prices were not immediately available.
The project replaces a previously approved plan for East & Hudson, developers of The Printhouse, to construct a nine-story, 200-unit building at the same site.
Ron Butler, senior designer at Humphreys & Partners Architects, said the 10 Commerce building will be geared toward young professionals and commuters.
“For a lot of the demographic it’s about accessibility and location and having a building with some different amenities,” Butler said. “It’s not just geared to young professionals, but I imagine that’s going to be the main population of it.”
The Planning Board cited concerns about the building’s design at the Dec. 19 meeting. Several members said the white facing of the structure would be difficult to maintain due to its location adjacent to the Metro-North train tracks and Interstate-95. Butler said the firm would consider altering the color.
Rashid Walker, managing director at BRP, said he expects to break ground late next summer. It will be the firm’s first project in Westchester.
“We think it makes sense because people are certainly being driven out of New York City because of pricing, and we think of markets like New Rochelle and White Plains as progressive and cost-effective places for them move,” Walker said.
Also projected to break ground in 2018 is a six-story, mixed-use building at 387 Huguenot St. The Christian Faith Ministries building at 383 Huguenot St. will be torn down and the neighboring U-Haul truck lot is also part of the site.
A rendering of the planned development at 387 Huguenot St. in New Rochelle.While the development is geared toward both millennials and empty-nesters, according to Doban Architecture’s website, the building will include a community art benefit space on the ground floor. It’s one of several planned developments to contribute to the city’s Arts & Cultural district.
383 Huguenot Street in New Rochelle on Dec. 21, 2017.Rye-based CAC Realty is developing 387 Huguenot, which was approved last year. The 54,000-square-foot, $10 million building will consist of 60 units — mostly studios and one-bedrooms, according to developer Frank Chechile at a Planning Board meeting held last year. It will include a rooftop patio and indoor parking.
Representatives from CAC could not be reached for comment. Projected rent prices were not made available.
This week, the Planning Board also approved a subdivision and site plan to demolish part of the La Rochelle apartment building, which will allow the city to create a through street, to be called Shearwood Place, connecting Huguenot to Station Plaza South.
A conceptual rendering of 255 Huguenot Street in New Rochelle shows a new through street and high-rise next to the La Rochelle apartment building.The resulting subdivision would allow Boston-based DSF Group, owner of La Rochelle, to build a neighboring high-rise on the new plot of land.
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the sites of the V Hotel and the Millenia are being prepped.
Source: New Rochelle Development
New Rochelle Development
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Good to see this flurry of mid rise activity. 
With good rail coverage, the proxies are a fantastic way to dig into the housing demand. Places like Mt Vernon are good opportunities for these mid rise developments. Really anything bordering a metro north rail line/station.
The V Hotel is going to look great next to the Church-Division project… I’m hoping we get to see an official proposal of that project to come to either the Planning Board or City Council soon.
it’s important to note that most of what’s been reported in this thread is separate from RXR’s 10-year venture as the master developer. The only projects RXR are working on currently are 587 Main and the Garage Towers.
What’s next for RXR in New Rochelle?
We’re continually looking at all the different sites that we have available for future development and being creative in terms of where there should be retail, what other uses should be there and doing the predevelopment work so if there’s an opportunity to move more quickly, we’re ready to move quickly.So you could be doing a third project?
Correct. We’re having discussions on third and fourth sites. We’re looking at multiple sites at the same time.
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26 Garden Street | 900k+ SF
something exciting to watch closely! a site near the station has been put up to sale. With all of the recent development I expect this to be snatched up quickly. It’s being marketed as mixed use with parking. The website lists +/- 756,000 sf but this recent tweet indicates much more. It’s a decent sized plot, but it will likely involve parking space which means a highrise will likely be built here. They even made sure to remind potential buyers of the views a highrise at this location would attain. 
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