Mount Kisco Selects Developers for Downtown Mixed-Use Projects
By Joan Gaylord
The Mount Kisco Village Board drew one step closer to bringing new mixed-use development to downtown by approving two developers and an architectural firm for the project.
Trustees voted 4-1 to sign a letter of intent to potentially enter a 99-year lease with New York City-based Gotham Organization, Inc. and Charter Realty & Development of Greenwich, Conn. to develop the project called Kirby Commons. The development would take place on the current parking lots on South Moger and North Moger avenues. Beyer, Blinder and Belle would be the architect.
The firms were selected from a Request for Proposal process that was opened earlier this year. Last week’s action allows the village to publicly disclose the firms they hope to work with.
The issue of using municipal-owned property to help re-energize downtown was one of the key pieces in the updated Comprehensive Plan that was adopted last winter. However, Mayor Gina Picinich cautioned that this is only a first step.
“It’s an extraordinary offering that doesn’t exist across northern Westchester and it doesn’t exist in Mount Kisco, so it’s a unique opportunity for housing and it’s a unique opportunity to fill a hole that really needs filling in in our community and in northern Westchester,” Picinich said.
She said the action taken at the board’s Nov. 18 meeting is not a lease or an agreement but “a declaration that we have picked the partners we would like to work with.”
Village Attorney Whitney Singleton said the next step is to formalize the process. Representatives from the firms that have been selected will need to do their due diligence, including obtaining a site access agreement and providing financial information to the village, he said.
No financial terms were discussed or released by the village last week.
The preliminary proposal would call for 51,600 square feet of ground-floor retail space and 217 rental units, with 15 of those units reserved for tenants earning 90 percent of area median income.
The South Moger Avenue lot building would be four stories, contain 113 residences, 38,000 square feet of retail space, 368 parking spaces and various amenities for residents.
The building on the North Moger Avenue lot would be five stories with 104 units, 13,600 square feet of retail, 522 parking spaces, a 3,100-square-foot community facility for cultural events, rooftop green space and residential amenities. The new buildings would be constructed of brick, wood and metal.
Parking would be in multilevel garages in portions of the existing lots and include 336 spaces for commuters.
Calling the proposal “a huge leap forward,” Trustee Peter Grunthal said the project would bring new vitality to the village and help stop what he called the revolving door of businesses in town. Mount Kisco has been plagued with large swaths of empty storefronts, although most recently the vacancy rate has been declining.
“This offers the potential for tremendous economic development,” Grunthal said.
Trustee Karen Schleimer, who heavily criticized development of the parking lots at the time of the Comprehensive Plan adoption, cast the dissenting vote. She blasted the process, which she said was “rushed,” saying there was a lack of attention to detail, especially parking. She said it appeared that the village would need to maintain the parking facilities.
“This will change the face of Mount Kisco forever,” Schleimer said. “We can’t afford to get it wrong.”
Picinich said the apartments would offer “quality rentals” that are currently missing in the northern Westchester market. She said there would be four types of units in the South Moger Avenue building – one- and two-bedroom apartments and one and two bedrooms with dens ranging from 800 to 1,340 square feet. The North Moger building would contain studios and one- and two-bedroom units that are slightly smaller.
Projected market-rate monthly rents would be between $2,667 and $4,355 on the South Moger site and from $1,880 to $3,160 for the North Moger building.
Gotham Organization, Inc. has built about 35,000 apartment, mostly in New York City.
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