Collins says he needs to talk to Westchester County, which owns a neighboring property on some matters and will then submit plans to the city for what would be phase three of the Hudson Park project. He adds that he hopes to be able to begin construction on the third phase within a year.

Hudson Park South, a $75-million, 266-unit development, was completed in 2003 and is now virtually 100% leased. The $125-million Hudson Park North or phase two broke ground in Sept. 2006 and is now complete. The Hudson Park North development consists of 294 rental units. Dwight Collins, vice president of Collins Enterprises, says that in just 30 days of marketing the property, the firm has signed 43 leases.

"Today is a milestone event not only for our company but for the City of Yonkers," Arthur Collins says. "The completion of Hudson Park is the realization of a dream that began more than 10 years ago when we first began plans to turn a vacant industrial site into a successful residential community."

Yonkers Mayor Phil Amicone also spoke at the ribbon-cutting event and praised the Collins organization for being the pioneers who "saw the potential in this city." The mayor notes, "Rebuilding a city on the scale of what we're doing here in Yonkers requires a real partnership between government and the private sector, and no company has been more committed to our vision for a thriving, destination waterfront like Collins Enterprises. Arthur and Dwight Collins were the first investors willing to put millions of dollars at stake in our downtown and there's no question that their investment has paid off both for their company and for the City of Yonkers."

When Collins Enterprises first proposed Hudson Park 10 years ago, there was little if any private investment interest in the downtown/waterfront district. Today, the city has a development pipeline in the billions of dollars, including the $1.5-billion waterfront revitalization plan being proposed by a partnership of Cappelli Enterprises, Fidelco Realty and Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse that is in the final stages of the approval process.