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Upzoning In New City Hamlet Center Spurs New Housing Opportunities
Clarkstown’s rezoning of the New City Hamlet has spurred a raft of new projects transforming tired shopping centers into mixed-use plazas with new residential components in the new H4 zone.
One project moving forward reimagines the southern half of the DeCicco’s Shopping Center on South Main Street in New City. The most recent iteration of the project would add a six-story 176,350 square foot multi-family residential building with 152 apartment units over two levels of garage parking.
New construction of a 10,690 square foot, one-story retail building and the addition of a 2,700 square foot drive-thru restaurant. Plans also include adding an 8,500 square foot mezzanine level to the existing DeCicco’s supermarket.
The project covers about 12 acres of land between South Main Street and Route 304 in New City. To make way for the project, the shuttered movie theater and other strip stores would be demolished.
The project fits squarely in with the New City H4 Hamlet zoning and Clarkstown’s plans to spur new housing growth where density already exists. The addition of residential units along North and South Main Street fits with the town’s Comprehensive Plan, and its efforts to upzone the hamlet districts. “Upzoning” refers to changing zoning laws to allow for higher density development,
The project is still working its way through Clarkstown’s Technical Advisory Committee before seeking the Special Permit it needs to build.
Former IBM/HNA Site Developer Seeks Economic Incentives/Benefits From Rockland IDA
The developers of the former IBM/HNA Palisades property on Route 9W in Palisades have applied to the Rockland County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) for an array of development incentives for the conversion of the former hotel and conference center into a residential complex.
The campus was recently sold to a Woodbridge, NJ-based development company for $27 million. The buyer, Orangetown Palisades Renewal Center JV, LLC, is associated with Atlantic Realty Companies.
The proposed plans largely mirror an earlier redevelopment plan with 342 townhouses spread across over 100 acres of land. The plan includes razing the convention center and hotel to make way for the residences.
The developer is seeking an exemption from paying sales taxes, an exemption from the mortgage tax, and the authority to negotiate a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) agreement with the local taxing authorities.
In its application to the IDA, the developer has estimated its land acquisition costs at $40 million, its costs for construction, infrastructure and other soft costs at $230 million.
It is seeking an exemption of about $2 million on $190 million in mortgage tax, and an exemption of $6.2 million for sales tax on about $74 million in taxable purchases.
Plans call for construction to start in June of 2027, completion in December of 2030, and occupancy in January of 2031, though neither site plans nor necessary zoning changes have yet been approved.
Clarkstown To Issue Bond To Acquire Residential Property In Central Nyack
Clarkstown is set to purchase another residential property on Waldron Avenue in Central Nyack for “general municipal purposes”. The property at 49 Waldron Avenue is contiguous to the property Clarkstown purchased at 55 Waldron Avenue in 2023. The plan then included razing the property for construction of a pocket park and playground.
In 2023, Clarkstown’s board members approved bonding to purchase the property at 55 Waldron on an eleventh of an acre for $365,000, recognizing there would be additional costs for demolition.
Now, the town is purchasing 49 Waldron, about 1/10th of an acre, for $720,000 and approved a bond in the amount of $735,000 to finance the acquisition. The sellers are Robert and Carolyn Simmons.
When the town purchased 55 Waldron, Robert Simmons said it was “disgusting” for the town to come in and purchase the house without letting nearby neighbors know and that the site was an “undersized” plot that was inappropriate for a park. Simmons also said, “Why take away an opportunity for housing when firefighters and first responders cannot afford to live in Central Nyack?”
Plans for the property are not formalized, but will likely include an expansion of the pocket park for community use or possibly for first responder housing. The properties sit directly across from the Central Nyack Community Center.
