Chap Crossing Developer Threatens Litigation Against New Castle

The attorney for the Chappaqua Crossing developer warned the New Castle Town Board last week that the town would be hit with costly litigation and tax certioraris unless officials vote on a rezone to allow retail.

John Marwell, representing Summit/Greenfield, the developer hoping to build 120,000 square feet of retail space at the former Reader’s Digest site, urged the board to take a vote before the end of the year and not squander an opportunity for a project that would be mutually beneficial to the town and his client. He appealed to officials to refrain from referring the revised preliminary concept development plan to the planning board and county planning department for review.

A revised concept development plan was needed after Summit/Greenfield announced that would-be anchor tenant Whole Foods had agreed to move into the site with a 40,000-square-foot store but wanted to occupy one of the new structures, not the site’s iconic cupola building as originally proposed.

Marwell had argued the previous week a referral wasn’t necessary because there were no other significant changes to the plan except for the swapping of the supermarket’s location with the other retail stores. Whole Food has set a deadline of mid 2015 to move into the new space, which would take about a year to build.

During his comments to the town board at its Nov. 26 meeting, Marwell outlined a history of promising corporate, residential and now retail proposals that Summit/Greenfield has submitted since acquiring the property nine years ago but has been met with intense opposition each time.

In 2011, Summit/Greenfield filed lawsuits in state and federal court against the town, but that litigation was set aside as part of a settlement to allow review of the retail application, which also requires a rezone for a portion of the property. The town had approved 111 units of housing, including 20 affordable units, in early 2011, instead of the previous proposal of 199 units in exchange for the possibility of retail, according to Marwell.

Last week he pressed for a vote on the rezone before the end of the year.

“We all know in business and in legal situations windows of opportunity open and they close,” Marwell said. “Right now, there’s a window of opportunity for Whole Foods to come to the Town of New Castle. We suggest to you that if that opportunity is not taken it’s going to disappear.”

Marwell promised that if the retail rezoning isn’t approved the pending litigation would likely be reactivated.

“Should that happen, this matter will be back in the courts rather than your board,” he later added.

Timing is of critical importance to the applicant because the three new town board members ready to take over next month, Supervisor-elect Rob Greenstein and incoming council members Lisa Katz and Adam Brodsky, have stated they want to wait to make any decision on Chappaqua Crossing until the town’s Master Plan update has been completed. It has been estimated that it would take about a year to finish the update.

Meanwhile, Marwell also promised that Summit/Greenfield would look to recoup millions of dollars in taxes that it believes it has overpaid over the last seven years because the property has remained largely vacant. Tax certioraris would cause a serious financial hit to New Castle and the Chappaqua School District, he said.

Despite the threat, the town board refused to budge and referred the revised plan to the New Castle Planning Board and county planners. Two current board members who are leaving office at the end of the month, Supervisor Susan Carpenter and Councilman Robin Stout, said they agree retail is appropriate for the Chappaqua Crossing site but the plan’s revision forces the town to obtain another opinion from planning experts.

“I don’t think it went through the kind of review with the town board that it needed to go through,” Carpenter said. “I think it was just simply proffered to us as ‘Well, here it is.'”

Stout agreed with the supervisor that a project of this magnitude merited another “hard look” by the town.

“Since that plan has changed, in my opinion, we need to make sure that we have done that hard look,” Stout said.

The board’s third proponent of Chappaqua Crossing retail, Councilman Jason Chapin, said he was reluctant to make any further comments because of Marwell’s threats of litigation.

“I’m not comfortable speaking freely with that kind of overture,” he said.

Greenstein, who attended the meeting with Katz and Brodsky, said he believes an understanding can be worked out between the town and the developer.

“I don’t think it’s in their interests, I don’t think it’s in anybody’s interests to litigate this issue,” Greenstein said. “I think it’s in everybody’s interests to work out a solution that becomes a win for the community and a win for the developer.”

“I do think a meeting of the minds is achievable in spite of the comments,” Greenstein added.

During his public comments, Marwell also stressed that the town wouldn’t only have to deal with a Summit/Greenfield lawsuit. The federal housing monitor could also get involved if the residential component of the project fails to be built and the affordable units are lost.

Retail at Chappaqua Crossing was suggested by the town to offer residents a full-service supermarket in the hamlet and to increase the town’s commercial base.