Homes for America Holdings, Inc. held a groundbreaking ceremony for its Station Plaza at Hudson venture at the site, which is situated at the intersection of Main St. and Buena Vista Ave., across the street from the Trolley Barn property and nearby a host of major redevelopment projects in the downtown/waterfront area.

A portion of the six-story building will serve as the corporate headquarters for Homes for America Holdings, according to Robert M. Kohn, the company's chief operating officer. The firm, which is currently housed in space at 2 Odell Plaza in Yonkers, will relocate to 7,000 to 10,000 sf once the Station Plaza building is completed. The building, which will be located nearby a new 650-space municipal parking garage that is now under construction, is expected to be ready for occupancy in the fall of 2003. China Trust is supplying the construction financing for the Station Plaza development. The property will consist of approximately 60,000 sf of office space and about 10,000 sf of retail space on the ground floor.

Homes for America Holdings specializes in acquiring, developing, rehabilitating and managing residential and commercial properties, particularly in downtown urban areas. The firm's portfolio is located in New York, Connecticut, Texas, Florida and Indiana.

"It's very exciting to be breaking ground now. We are constructing an office building that the City of Yonkers will be proud of, and we have an opportunity to play a positive role in the downtown waterfront revitalization. That's important," said Robert MacFarlane, chief executive officer and co-founder of Homes For America Holdings, Inc. "Now we're looking for tenants who will appreciate the exceptional opportunities that this building and this city have to offer."

Carl Silbergleit and Ellen Benedek of Friedland Realty, the exclusive brokers for Station Plaza, said that the firm has just begun marketing the available space at the property.

"We have some proposals out," Benedek said. "They range from 20,000 sf to the entire building."

Silbergleit added that the firm has been marketing mainly to firms in the Yonkers area as well as to prospects in the Bronx and Manhattan.

Yonkers Mayor John Spencer noted that Station Plaza "is a continuation of what we dreamed about seven years ago." The mayor noted that nearby the Station Plaza site, a new $53-million Board of Education/Public Library building, was recently completed; the historic Trolley Barn property is being redeveloped; Collins Enterprises is building a $60-million rental housing development; Metro North is undertaking a multi-million dollar capital improvement program at the Yonkers train station; and the City of Yonkers is completing a multi-million dollar Hudson River Esplanade Park that will increase and enhance public access to the Hudson River.

GRAD Associates, P.A. based in Newark, NJ. is the architectural firm for the Station Plaza development. Scorcia and Diana Associates, Inc. based in Floral Park, N., is the general contractor for the project.

Instant Insights /

Real Estate Firm Breaks Ground on $12M Office Building

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