Yorktown to Study Cost of Relocating Highway Garage
It took some convincing from Supervisor Michael Grace, but the Yorktown Town Board agreed last week to study the cost of relocating the highway garage to make room for a possible mixed-used, town center-type building on Front Street.
“It’s generated a lot of excitement in the downtown area,” Grace said. “We’ve had people who want to take tenant space in the building and we haven’t even built it.”
In late June, Grace and a citizens’ group that supports “intelligent and responsible business growth” announced plans to “set the tone” for improvements in downtown Yorktown and other areas.
The major project in those plans was moving the highway garage to the Hallocks’ Mill sewer plant. In its place would be a multi-story structure, with commercial and residential components, called Depot Square, paying homage to yesteryear in the town in the 18th Century.
Grace, who said he has had his eyes on cleaning up the highway garage site since taking office last year, revealed some estimates for a new 36,000-square-foot highway garage ($240,000 to $300,000) and a 20,000-square-foot parks and recreation building ($140,000) that would be built on a two-acre site where the town currently operates a money-losing composting facility.
The potential unknown cost is cleaning up the highway garage site, which some board members fear could have some major environmental problems.
“There’s a lot of fear of what will be found in the ground,” Grace said. “I know there is a lot of concern about what can of worms I’m opening up. It won’t be problematic.”
Grace noted the property would be brought back on to the tax rolls and serve as an anchor for a linear park to Town Hall, Railroad Park and other nearby parks.
Yorktown Councilman Nick Bianco, who is challenging Grace for his supervisor position this November, said moving the highway department is not a new concept, adding it was studied more than a decade ago.
“It’s a great concept and I think it’s a wonderful plan, but I’m concerned about moving the highway garage,” he said. “If we’re going to do this, I don’t believe those numbers will be right. We may have to go out to bond. I want to know what the dollars are.”
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/
