Following a spirited competition among six quality applicants, the City Council has selected Simone Development Companies (Simone) to develop the site of the current Church-Division parking lot. Simone is a strong regional developer, headquartered in southwestern New Rochelle, with an impressive record of accomplishment throughout the metropolitan area. Simone’s proposal includes roughly four hundred condominium apartments, distributed in one high-rise tower, one mid-rise building, and several ground-level townhouse units. A small percentage of these apartments will be set aside for affordable or workforce housing. The proposal also includes some 40,000 square feet of new retail space, arranged along a newly designed street and public plaza on the interior of the property. Simone proposes to compensate for the loss of parking spaces at the Church-Division site by decking the adjoining Prospect Street lot, resulting in a net increase of 140 public parking spaces. Finally, Simone has expressed a desire to work in concert with the owners of adjoining Main Street properties to rehabilitate their structures for higher quality retail use. The City expects a net annual fiscal benefit from the development in excess of $2 million. The precise dimensions and design elements of the project will likely evolve as the environmental review process unfolds and as the City negotiates the details of a Land Disposition Agreement. It is clear, however, that the Church-Division proposal represents growing confidence among investors in New Rochelle’s future, and that the development will generate tremendous energy and vitality in the heart of our downtown.
