Ritz-Carlton to Benefit from County IDA
At last week’s meeting of the Westchester County IDA, the Ritz-Carlton, Westchester and Onyx Equities, both located in White Plains, received approval for sales tax exemptions for major building renovations.
The Cappelli Organization received IDA approval for $297,500 in sales tax exemptions for a $4 million renovation of the Ritz-Carlton, Westchester hotel in downtown White Plains, including upgrades to the hotel’s lobby lounge, guestrooms and suites, corridors and spa. Renovations include new carpeting, wall coverings, draperies and seating. The hotel features 146 luxury rooms, spa, fitness center, lounge, and 10,000 square feet of meeting and special event space, including a 500-person ballroom. The project is expected to create 40 construction jobs.
“The requested Westchester IDA assistance will enable a major renovation and upgrade to the Ritz Carlton Hotel and convention facility which opened its doors in 2007,” said Joseph V. Apicella, executive vice president of the Cappelli Organization at the IDA meeting. “This will allow the facility to continue to serve as Westchester’s premier tourism and convention hub. In a very competitive regional industry, this much-needed investment will result in job retention and growth of the 350-plus person workforce in downtown White Plains.”
Onyx Equities, located at 1311 Mamaroneck Avenue, is a real estate investment company specializing in acquiring and repositioning undervalued properties in the Tri-state region. Onyx received approval for IDA financing totaling $167,216 in sales tax exemptions for the renovation of its 326,307-square-foot office building. The $4 million renovation project includes upgrading of the lobby, corridors, elevator cabs, cafeteria and other common areas inside the building as well as adding parking, signage and landscaping to the 23.46-acre site.
Jared Minatelli, senior vice president-asset management, Onyx Equities said the IDA’s assistance on this project would allow Onyx to not only make the initial investment in 1311, but also remain economically competitive in the marketplace when trying to bring tenants to 1311 Mamaroneck Avenue.
At the same meeting, the IDA approved a sales tax exemption of $1,328,400 and a mortgage tax exemption of $546,000 for Fareri Associates for the development of a $60 million condominium to be built in the Village of Bronxville at 15 Kensington Road. And, Murphy Brothers Contracting, a family owned and operated general contracting firm in Mamaroneck, received approval for a sales tax exemption totaling $110,625 for the construction of a 40,000-square-foot self-storage facility at 426 Waverly Avenue in Mamaroneck.
