Zoning Change Sought for Proposed Hawthorne Hotel, Apartment Project
A developer is pursuing a zoning change from the Mount Pleasant Town Board for a proposed hotel and apartment complex on Skyline Drive in Hawthorne.
The proposal from the Jersey City, N.J.-based Roseland Residential Trust and the Robert Martin Company, LLC of Elmsford calls for a 222,000-square-foot structure consisting of two connected four-story buildings. The structure would consist of 222 one- and two-bedroom units and be placed in the center of the 8.3-acre parcel, said Marshall Tycher, chairman of Roseland Residential Trust. More than half of the apartments would have two bedrooms.
The one-bedroom units would rent for between $2,000 to $2,300 a month and the two-bedroom apartments are expected to command $3,000 to $3,300 a month.
A 100,000-square-foot, four-story hotel with 157 rooms would be located on the northwestern part of the property, located near Route 9A.
Robert Weinberg, president of the Robert Martin Company, said apartments to house the employees of growing entities in the area such as Regeneron, New York Medical College and Westchester Medical Center are needed in the area. The apartments would be designed for young professionals, most of whom don’t yet have families, he said.
Weinberg said he expected high turnover for the apartments because young professionals often change jobs frequently and relocate.
“We’re very confident about the demand for this product,” he said.
Before the Planning Board can embark on site plan review, the property must be rezoned by the Town Board from its current Office Business designation to a multiuse transitional zone.
Supervisor Carl Fulgenzi said the developer of the proposed North 60 biomedical complex near Westchester Medical Center is also seeking to construct a hotel along with senior housing. Officials must consider the ramifications of potentially having two new hotels in town, he said.
Rocco Sblendorio, of the Robert Martin Company, said traffic wouldn’t significantly increased in the area or have other negative impacts.
“It wouldn’t affect anybody,” he said. “It fits quite well.”
However, Councilman Nicholas DiPaolo said he was concerned about traffic. A second traffic signal would be needed for the Skyline Drive area if the project was approved, DiPaolo said.
Tycher responded that the applicant would be willing to seek approval from the state Department of Transportation for another traffic light and would ask for the town’s assistance.
Some residents might consider the proposed zoning change as spot zoning, Councilman Mark Rubeo said.
Weinberg said zoning changes have been granted to other clients of his firm to convert former office parks similar to Skyline Drive to other uses. Zoning changes for high-vacancy office parks is “good for the community,” he said.
The developer’s proposal, including the need for a zoning change, will be discussed with the town’s planning consultant Pat Cleary.
If the Town Board would like to pursue the project, the next step would be to solicit the Planning Board’s opinion regarding the proposed zoning change. The Town Board did not come to a consensus last week on whether to refer the matter to the Planning Board.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/