Back in December 2013, local developer Lou Larizza and his team, along with Norma Drummond, Deputy Commissioner of the Westchester County Department of Planning, made a presentation to the City Council on a proposal to build an affordable Senior Housing Development on a 2.07-acre property near the corner of Theodore Fremd Avenue and North Street.

 

By Bill Lawyer

 

Back in December 2013, local developer Lou Larizza and his team, along with Norma Drummond, Deputy Commissioner of the Westchester County Department of Planning, made a presentation to the City Council on a proposal to build an affordable Senior Housing Development on a 2.07-acre property near the corner of Theodore Fremd Avenue and North Street.

 

Drummond explained that doing such a project would require the City to adopt a Zoning Code Amendment that will rezone the property to a residential district that will allow multi-family residences. Although there had been issues related to contamination on the site, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) now considered the site to be safe for development.

 

A resolution was passed making the City the lead agency for the project. Public hearings and a site visit were held, at which many neighboring homeowners raised concerns. Other residents and seniors groups spoke in favor of the proposal. Environmental conditions at the site were a major issue. 

 

Outside consultants were hired to carry out the detailed and highly technical analysis of the site’s environmental conditions and the impact of the project on traffic and public safety. 

 

By the end of 2014, all the reports and research projects were completed, and the Council approved the zoning change and project, subject to the various aspects of the scope, size and siting of the building. 

 

Completing these details consumed most of 2015 and part of 2016. The City Planning Commission approved the plan last June; the Board of Architectural Review approval came in January of this year.

 

The project was reduced from two buildings to one, and from 54 to 41 units, twenty-eight of which will be one-bedroom units and 12 two-bedroom units. One of the apartments will be for the super, who is also a senior. Twenty-seven of the units can be counted toward the Federal government’s requirement of 750 affordable housing units throughout Westchester County.

 

Final approval will come with the issuance of a building permit, which is only a few, minor technicalities from happening.

 

The exterior design of the project can be seen in an artist’s rendering. Amenities include laundry rooms on each floor, and a community room on the fourth floor. The grounds include a lawn, benches, and a gazebo.

 

Michael Martino, one of Larizza’s associates, stated that the project would cost an estimated $17 million. He added that the preliminary financing is in place, and he expects that the transfer of ownership from Westchester County to Larizza’s development company will take place in mid- to late April. If all else goes according to plan, groundbreaking will begin in May.