Mount Kisco Planners Critical of ‘Boxy’ Modell’s Plan

A proposal to bring Modell’s Sporting Goods to the site of the former Borders bookstore was thrown into doubt last week as most of the Mount Kisco Planning Board expressed opposition to the application.

Four of the five board members said they didn’t want a big-box store in the heart of downtown, contending that the chain would be too large for the neighborhood. They also said that the interior of the store shouldn’t be seen through the building’s front windows.

Vice Chairman Anthony Sturniolo said Mount Kisco is a small community with mom and pop stores. The downtown has a distinctive look, he said, but Modell’s is “far too large and boxy” for Main Street.

William Null, an attorney representing Modell’s, countered that the proposal conforms to the area’s zoning.

“It is a better fit for the Route 117 business corridor,” said board member Ralph Vigliotti at the Oct. 13 meeting.

He added that Main Street stores should have “village-like signage.”

A goal of the 2003 revision of the village zoning code was to limit the size of new stores to 8,000 square feet on Main Street, Vigliotti said. Proposed stores larger than that size require a special permit from the planning board.

Vigliotti also said the public should not be able to look into the store through the front windows. He suggested that Modell’s position a wall by the windows, similar to what has been done by T.J. Maxx and Rite Aid Pharmacy.

“It’s a better look,” he said.

Modell’s typical signage would be out of character with the downtown, Vigliotti added.

Null responded that the plan complies with the village’s sign laws and that the applicant would work with the board on what could be seen through the front windows.

Douglas Epstein, Modell’s senior vice president of real estate and general counsel, said the company’s representatives did not want to follow the example of T.J. Maxx and Rite Aid.

“You’d be looking at a blank wall,” he said.

Board Chairman Joseph Cosentino said the board was required to analyze a proposal’s potential impact and approving Modell’s could encourage other large chain stores to move to downtown.

Modell’s would only occupy a portion of the space, which had formerly housed a box store, Null argued.

The typical Modell’s is about 15,000 square feet, Epstein said. While stores located in Manhattan are often about 7,500 square feet, other locations are as large as 30,000 square feet, he said.

Despite the criticisms from most planning board members, Cosentino stressed that the “board has nothing against Modell’s.”

The only board member to support Modell’s last week was John Bainlardi. The closing of Borders, which was “an anchor for that location,” has been a major loss for the village and the Modell’s use would be appropriate for the Commercial Business zone, he said.

Borders occupied the entire 22,600-square-foot space at 154-162 E. Main St., which has been vacant since September 2011 after the bookstore chain filed for bankruptcy. Kisco Retail, LLC sold the property for $6.5 million in an August 2014 auction. Modell’s and the New Jersey-based Lerner Properties are the new owners.

The board’s opposition to the plan drew the ire of downtown business owners who attended the meeting. Leslie Bijoux, co-owner of Yogi’s Paw and Evolution across the street from the site, said Modell’s is needed for the economic viability of downtown.

Cathy Deutsch, owner of Tiger Lily boutique, said she believes a majority of the board has wanted to oppose Modell’s. She said she found the board’s opposition unusual because Borders was also a large store.

Modell’s would occupy all but 6,000 square feet of the upper level of the two-story building, while one or more additional tenants that have not been determined would fill out the remainder of the space.

With several nearby vacant storefronts, the sporting goods store would attract more shoppers downtown and give the area greater vitality, Deutsch said.

“We are fed up,” she said. “I’m very passionate about this.”

Modell’s could find exterior signage that would fit in with Main Street, Deutsch added. Starbucks, also a national chain, conformed to neighboring downtown businesses on South Moger Avenue, she said.

The only major interior changes would be the installation of a new elevator and staircase.

The Modell’s project is scheduled to return to the planning board on Oct. 27.