NEW ROCHELLE, NY—The vision of what Downtown New Rochelle could become is now clearly in focus. In his State of the City address last week, New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson announced a previously announced high-rise project is moving forward and another three major developments have been proposed for the downtown district.

The four developments, when completed, will add more 1,800 housing units to the downtown district.

Mayor Bramson and officials with RXR Realty, the master developer for the for the City of New Rochelle's downtown redevelopment program with partner Renaissance Downtowns, stated at a conference on Feb. 28 at TF Andrew at 607 Main St. that the developer will soon move forward with a plan to build twin, 28-story towers at the Church-Division parking lot site in Downtown New Rochelle. RXR Realty proposed the ambitious mixed-use project back in August 2017.

Seth Pinsky, executive vice president, metro markets, public affairs director and portfolio manager with RXR Realty, said the firm hopes to bring its plans before the city's Planning Board in the next month or two and begin development on the project by the end of this year. The mayor in his State of the City address said that some construction at the project site could begin with a groundbreaking in just two weeks.

The plan as outlined by RXR last year called for 650 to 700 residential apartments and between 35,000 square feet to 40,000 square feet of retail space. Pinsky said the project is valued at approximately $200 million.

Mayor Bramson said there are about 15 development projects that are either under construction, approved or in the pipeline to be built in the city, with more to come.

“Over the next three or four years, as long as the national economy holds for us with significant strength, this is going to be a dramatically different community,” Mayor Bramson predicted.

In addition to updating RXR's Church and Division project, the mayor in his State of the City address announced three new development projects—14 LeCount, 500 Main St. and 277 North Ave.

Wilder-Balter Partners of Elmsford is proposing twin-towers of 27 stories each at 14 LeCount that will feature approximately 500 apartments, as well as the activation of Anderson Plaza. The mayor said that project is expected to be presented to the city's Planning Board this month, with a possible groundbreaking by the end of this year.

BRP Development of New York City and Covenant Church have proposed a 16-story building at 500 Main St. that will feature 243 apartments. The project is expected to break ground sometime in 2019.

The mayor also reported that Fisher Development is planning a 28-story building at 277 North Ave., just across the street from the train station. The project, which will wrap around the iconic K building, will feature more than 400 apartments.

The mayor also revealed that city government operations will be relocating from North St. to the base of 45 Harrison St., the site of a 27-story residential tower (238 apartments) that is being developed by MacQuesten Development.

“At the base of their Harrison Street tower, MacQuesten Development has agreed to build out a brand new civic complex,” the mayor said. “It will put the people's house back in the heart of the city, right between Main and Huguenot (streets) bringing employees, visitors and residents closer to shops and eateries, helping to create a more robust daytime office population, and making a bold statement of confidence in our downtown's future.”

The mayor added that the new City Hall would in fact cost less to operate than that the city pays at its current facilities at 515 North Ave. The 45 Harrison St. project will also include the construction of a new Fire Station #1. The city selected MacQuesten Development as the winning bidder for the project last summer.

The $120-million project is also slated to include 6,700 square feet of ground floor retail space and is scheduled to break ground this summer.

Among the major developments under construction at the moment in Downtown New Rochelle is at 587 Main St. RXR Realty broke ground on the Loew's Theater project there on Nov. 30, 2016 that at full build-out will be comprised of 280 rental units, 10,000 square feet of arts and cultural space. The project, currently under construction, will also feature 17,000 square feet of commercial space and 234 on-site parking spaces.

New Rochelle's redevelopment plan was approved by the city in December 2015. It includes the rezoning of 279 acres of land around its train station in its Downtown area and allows for more than 12 million square feet of new construction, including up to 2.4 million square feet of office space, 1 million square feet of retail, 6,370 housing units and 1,200 hotel rooms

Instant Insights /

Three New High-Rise Projects on Tap in New Rochelle

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