Mt. Pleasant Planning Board Supports Medical Research Buildings Plan
The Mount Pleasant Planning Board is prepared to approve a proposal to expand medical research facilities on the BMR-Landmark at Eastview property on the west side of Saw Mill River Road.
There were no objections raised against the project during the board’s June 17 meeting.
BMR-Landmark at Eastview is seeking wetlands and steep slopes permits and permission to merge two existing lots to allow the proposal to proceed.
Judson Siebert, an attorney representing the applicant, told the planning board last week the project was the first phase of development sought by his client, who hopes to eventually be allowed to create 444,000 square feet of facilities for medical laboratory research.
Landmark at Eastview is seeking a “campus-like feel” called for in its master plan that was approved by planners in 2011, Siebert said.
The first phase is to construct two connected four-story buildings totaling 297,000 square feet of research laboratory and office facilities. The space would be leased to the Tarrytown-based biotech company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.
The plan also calls for construction of a 758-space parking structure, said Richard Pearson, an engineer working for the developer. The top floor of the parking facility would be built without a roof, he said.
Landmark at Eastview recently received a variance from the zoning board of appeals to reduce the length of its parking spaces from 25 to 20 feet, Pearson said. The town code calls for 25-foot-long spaces.
Following an inquiry from planning board member John Cohen about the size of the spaces, Pearson said most vehicles do not require more than 20 feet. The shorter spaces would make for a much less costly parking structure, he said.
There would be a penthouse on top of the two lab buildings to cover the mechanical equipment. Planning board member Regina Pellegrino said that she was
uncomfortable with the term penthouse but Seibert assured her that it was simply a covering for the mechanical equipment and would have no other purpose.
Mount Pleasant Conservation Advisory Council Chairman Steven Kavee, the only resident to speak during last week’s public hearing, asked if the developer could avoid disturbing an 865-square-foot wetlands buffer on the eastern portion of the site. Pearson said the developer would explore the possibility of altering an internal roadway proposed for the property to limit or eliminate disturbance.
The board voted unanimously to close the public hearing and instruct planning consultant Pat Cleary to create a resolution that would be discussed at the July 3 meeting.
