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NEW CASTLE, NY-The storied Reader's Digest property, located in the Chappaqua section here, may eventually house a 348-unit 55+ age restricted housing community if the plan is approved as presented. Officials with S/G Chappaqua LLC, the owner of the 120-acre Reader's Digest campus, presented a proposal to the New Castle Town Board and Planning Board for the condominium and townhouse development. The project is expected to cost approximately $200 million to develop. S/G Chappaqua LLC is a joint venture of Summit Development and Greenfield Partners, both based in South Norwalk, CT. For previous coverage, click here.

The age-restricted housing plan calls for construction of 348 condominium homes for buyers 55 years and over on the campus, which has been renamed Chappaqua Crossing. The proposed homes will be clustered and integrated into the existing office buildings, interior road system and landscaping in order to preserve the open space character of the site, the developer says. A total of 284 units will be housed in low-and mid-rise buildings. Sixty-four townhouse units round out the development.

"We have spent more than a year studying and analyzing all aspects of the property in an effort to come up with a use that is appropriate for the site," says Felix Charney, president of Summit Development Corp. "We believe that this design for an active adult community is good for the community and allows Reader's Digest to remain in New Castle for the next 20 to 40 years."

S/G Chappaqua purchased the Reader's Digest property in December 2004. Reader's Digest, which at one time employed more than 5,000 full- and part-time workers at the site, is remaining as an office tenant. The global publishing giant has remodeled office space over the last year and is completing a consolidation of its headquarters operations into 225,000 sf. It now has less than 1,000 employees at the site. The company has a 20-year lease with S/G Chappaqua renewable for a second 20 years, S/G Chappaqua officials say. The joint venture is now actively leasing 171,000 sf of vacant office space.

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GlobeSt.com UPDATE: Developer Eyes $200M Age-Restricted Housing for Reader's Digest Site

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