Rye’s thriving downtown boasts an attractive mix of restaurants, salons, and retailers that have also made it a highly successful business district.
But two new development projects downtown, and strong development pressure in neighboring communities, have raised questions about whether the mix responsible for the success of Rye’s downtown’s may be under threat.
Rye may be especially vulnerable to development pressure, because it has not revised its master plan – the document that outlines a community’s priorities for development – in 40 years. The city is scheduled to start a multi-year master planning process in 2025 that may well recommend regulations that will have an impact on downtown development.
But the master planning process may take years, and many development projects could come before city officials during that time. The City Council could potentially take interim steps to control development while a master plan is being developed, but it has not taken steps in that direction.
As it stands, retail rents in downtown Rye are among the highest in the county. While online commerce has devastated many suburban shopping districts, Rye is so popular that midday visitors often have trouble finding parking.
What’s the formula for this success? Merchants and city officials cite a variety of factors.
The “mosaic” of buildings with varied architectural styles is a major contributor to Rye’s charm, said long-time Purchase Street landlord Karen Butler.
Planning Commission Chairman Nick Everett pointed out that the curve and slope of Purchase Street make it particularly appealing.
Rye is a destination where consumers spend hours dining and shopping, according to Gina DiDonato, a long-time Rye commercial retail broker. DiDonato said Purchase Street rents can be $65 per square feet and up, roughly a $20 premium over comparable properties in other upscale towns.
Concerns about the direction of the downtown’s development have surfaced following approval of a pair of three-story mixed retail/residential buildings — one built and one just approved — on Purdy Avenue. And some residents are alarmed by the emergence of an enormous residential and retail complex downtown in next-door Harrison as well as extensive development in downtown Port Chester.
Those factors led Butler to address a letter to Mayor Josh Cohn and members of the City Council on Nov. 1.
“I am writing to urge you all to look long and hard at enacting legislation, regulations and the like, that will preempt the possibility of the charming downtown area of Rye being destroyed in a piecemeal manner,” said Butler, who grew up in Rye and owns 65-67 Purchase St., the building with the street’s largest footprint.
“Two buildings on Purdy Avenue have been approved of late. The one that is complete (12) is a big rectangular ‘blob’ of concrete, okay, not notable as a piece of architecture. The approved one across the street (11-15) was enhanced slightly,” wrote Butler. “The problem today is as economics of scale incentivize property owners to build fully to the three-floor limit plus shafts and vents, each new edifice has a great impact on the overall ‘mosaic’ of downtown Rye.”
Photo Lois Wald
Some, like Butler, believe interim restrictions are needed.
Looming in the minds of many is Avalon Harrison. The massive project — 143 apartments, 27,000 square feet of retail space, and nearly 800 parking spaces — has dramatically changed the look and feel of Harrison’s downtown since its first stage opened in 2021.
The circumstances that led to that development, however, are not analogous to today’s conditions in Rye. It took years of town, state, and investor planning and negotiations before the Avalon was built on parking lots that served Harrison’s Metro-North station. The Avalon did not displace existing retail or residential buildings.
An enormous complex like the Avalon could not quickly crop up in Rye, because of many commercial and regulatory factors. But there is little in place to block smaller but substantial projects from rapidly taking root.
Roughly two-thirds of the buildings along the downtown stretch of Purchase Street are one- or two-story structures that could be enlarged to increase their owners’ return on investment.
Such was the case with 11-15 Purdy Ave., a project the Planning Commission approved on Oct. 22 that will knock down three small buildings to create a three-story edifice containing street-level retail, eight apartments, and eight indoor parking spaces.
“The proposed development represents a marked improvement from the existing outdated buildings” argued the developer’s attorney, Steven Wrabel, in an October memo to the commission, adding it “will revitalize this area of downtown.”
After receiving feedback at a public hearing Oct. 8 from Butler and commission members on the project’s aesthetics, the developer made some changes, including incorporating varied shadings of brick to create more “visual texture” and blend better with other buildings in the area, wrote Wrabel.
While offering on behalf of the developers, MM Real Estate Partners LLC, to make such investments in design, Wrabel also argued that since Rye’s commercial district already has many three-story, mixed-use buildings, his client’s plan met the city’s standard of review and the Planning Commission was obligated to approve the project.
That is a challenge the city boards responsible for reviewing development plans must frequently contend with, Everett explained. If owners present plans that conform with Rye’s current building codes the Planning Commission, Board of Appeals, and Architectural Review Board are legally bound to approve them, he said. Failure to do so for what applicants consider arbitrary or capricious reasons might leave the city open to lawsuits.
Only the City Council has the power to change zoning regulations related to height (current code generally restricts buildings in the central business district to three stories), parking, garbage facilities, or permitted uses, Everett said.
Everett, DiDonato, and City Manager Greg Usry said they were not aware of any imminent plans to expand buildings in downtown Rye, but those types of plans could be submitted at any time.
Everett said he is not concerned that while the master plan is being developed more downtown buildings might be expanded. “If you had all three-story buildings along Purchase Street, I don’t believe it would be the end of the world,” he said.
Nevertheless, Everett said he looks forward to the creation of a new master plan that addresses contemporary downtown development policy concerns.