OSSINING, NY-The Harbor Square waterfront project here is moving forward. After about eight years of trying to obtain municipal approvals, the project should break ground in the next four to six weeks. The Ossining Village Board granted final approvals to the $75-million venture being developed by Cappelli Enterprises and Ginsburg Development Corp, both of Valhalla.

The mixed-use project calls for 150 condominiums and 10,000 sf of retail and restaurant space and a waterfront park on approximately 4.6 acres along the Hudson River shoreline. Cappelli was selected as the designated developer for the property after responding to a request for proposals back in 1998. Ginsburg was brought on as a joint venture partner in September.

The approved plan calls for the construction of two buildings, a 79-ft, 150-unit condominium and a one-story building that will include a waterfront restaurant and service-oriented retail space. A spokesman for the developers says that the project will take about 18 months to build.

"This project has been subjected to greater scrutiny than any project in which I have been involved," Louis Cappelli, principal of Cappelli Enterprises, says. Martin Ginsburg, a principal of Ginsburg Development adds that "all of the ingredients are here to make this a special and unique project that will quickly become a destination of choice for people from Ossining and beyond."

The final agreement between the village and the developers increased the property's sale price from $1.9 million to $2.2 million and eliminates a previously approved payment in lieu of taxes arrangement. The development is now projected to pay the village nearly $1.1 million in real estate taxes each year, including $571,400 in taxes to the Ossining School District. The developers have also agreed to establish a $1.5-million affordable housing fund. If the project were built as rental housing, rather than condominiums, 10% of the units would be designated as affordable.