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Developer Yakov Grunwald Selected To Develop Affordable Housing In Village Of Spring Valley
This is a building with an interesting plot. It began as a traditional movie house, had a less than celebrated run as an adult-movie theater before falling into disrepair. Two decades ago, the Town of Ramapo bought it, and has been underutilized despite being used as a community center.
Now, the former movie theater at 62-66 North Main Street in the Village of Spring Valley is ready for its sequel: the Cultural Arts Center building is slated to become a five-story mixed-use, primarily residential development with 34 affordable apartments and a 2,500 square-foot community room available for public use. Units will be available to “community members” earning less than 80 percent of the Rockalnd County Area Median Income (AMI). The redevelopment project will create 1,000 square feet of office space for local nonprofit use in addition to residential units. Community members appears to mean residents of the Town of Ramapo.
The plan calls for 16 one-bedroom, 16 two-bedroom and 2 three-bedroom units. Parking will be available on-site.
“To further our commitment to address the need for affordable housing as a certified Pro-Housing Community, the Town of Ramapo is moving forward with the re-development of the Cultural Arts Center to dedicated affordable housing space,” said Town Supervisor Michael Specht. “The reinvention of the property will also include a publicly accessible community room and two nonprofit offices on the ground floor. We have retained a consultant, the Housing Action Council, to review, advise and guide us through the process to ensure best practices are followed and public benefits are provided.”
The conversion of the theater into an affordable housing project advances Ramapo’s goals of being a pro-housing community. Ramapo is the only town in Rockland County to participate in New York State’s Pro-Housing Community Certification Plan, making it eligible for state funding that other Rockland towns cannot access.
The long-shuttered but still remembered (by some) neighborhood movie house opened as the Spring Valley Cinema in July 1962. Around 1973 the theater started showing adult movies and ultimately closed in 1988. In its hey-day, the grand old theater had a large balcony and lobby, a grand staircase, and a large lounge area downstairs.
In 2005, the Town of Ramapo purchased the building at 62-66 North Main Street in the Village of Spring Valley for $637,500, and converted it to a community center. The building was under-utilized, but provided offices for the local chapter of the NAACP. Since Covid, NAACP has been the building’s only occupant. In an effort to redevelop the derelict property and provide much-needed affordable housing, the town put out an RFP to redevelop the property into affordable rental housing for the local community.
The town accepted a proposal from Sunshine Realty Group (SRG) for Ramapo Cultural Arts Center Revitalization Project. SRG is an Airmont-based development company led by Yakov Grunwald.
The plan for the former theater calls for demolition of the existing building with preservation of the foundation and some of the structure.
The development and construction costs are estimated at about $11 million. Funding for the project will come from a variety of sources, including the United Methodist Pension Fund, a New York State Small Building Participation Loan, a Rockland County ARPA grant, a Ramapo Local Development Corporation subordinated mortgage, and developer equity.
The project, situated in the Village of Spring Valley, needs several variances including for lot area, lot width, and floor area ratio (FAR). FAR is the percentage of square footage of the building compared to the size of the building lot.
Ramapo will either sell or lease the property to SRG for $1.5 million. Ramapo will also save the annual maintenance costs of about $75,000 and benefit from having the property return to the tax rolls with a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) agreement with estimated annual payment of about $50,000.
Last month, the Town of Ramapo transferred ownership of the theater property to its Local Development Corporation.
Grunwald’s Green Development Realty is also the developer of a senior housing project at 135 North Main Street in New City. The senior housing plan includes 47 rental units: 30 one-bedroom and 17 two-bedroom, one of which is a superintendent’s unit, and a small event room.
Grunwald also manages Kennelly Square Holding LLC, the developer of Kennelly Square, a three-story senior housing apartment building on the 1.3-acre site south of Lake Road in Congers.
Grunwald has been involved in the Bluefield Extension subdivision controversy in Ramapo. The Bluefield Extension subdivision on Union Road in Hillcrest has been before land use boards for nearly a decade, and the subject of several court filings in Rockland County Supreme Court. In February, the Town of Ramapo Planning Board determined that the proposed Bluefield Extension Amended Subdivision and Site Development Permit would not have a significant adverse environmental impact. The negative SEQRA declaration is a necessary step toward advancing the Bluefield Extension project.
