Mount Pleasant Awaits Site Plan Application to Begin North80 Review
News Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
The Town of Mount Pleasant is awaiting the submission of a formal site plan application to begin review of the first phase of North80, a three million-square-foot science and technology development near Westchester Medical Center.
The Town Board unanimously approved the zoning this fall for the project, formerly North 60. In addition to more than 2.1 million square feet of biotech space, there will be 400,000 square feet of medical offices and a 142,000-square-foot living science center and museum.
The remainder of the new development will be a hotel and retail, including restaurants, and landscaped greenspace on the Grasslands complex, which is in close proximity to New York Medical College and Regeneron.
No specific timetable was given for when developer Fareri Associates will submit the site plan application for the first phase of the three-phase project, although town officials expect it will be sometime during the early stages of this year.
Supervisor Carl Fulgenzi said the rezoning on the Town Board’s part allows for review of the project to commence once the anticipated site plan application has arrived.
“The review of this plan has been extensive, careful and thorough,” Fulgenzi said. “The direct access to the Sprain Brook Parkway, the proximity of both the Harlem and Hudson lines of Metro-North, and numerous other factors, combined with the infrastructure investment that will come with the plan, make the location uniquely well-suited. We look forward to seeing the first phase of the site plan coming to fruition.”
The North80 has been viewed by business leaders and county and local officials as the catalyst to make Westchester a science, technology, research and medical hub. A little over a year ago, the New York State Regional Economic Development Council awarded the North80 a $3 million grant to help toward that goal.
The site is a combination of 60 acres of undeveloped county-owned land for which Fareri Associates holds a 99-year lease. The development company owns 20 adjacent acres.
If completed, the $1.2 billion project would be the largest single economic development in Westchester. It was estimated at the start of the state Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) process, that it could take as long as 15 years for the project to be fully developed.
“We are thankful for the Town Board’s support of our vision for the North80,” Fareri Associates President and CEO John Fareri said in a statement. “We are confident that our vision for this unique location will bring thousands of new jobs and economic opportunities to Westchester and New York State, while working synergistically with the adjacent and nearby uses. It’s a win-win for the town, the county and the state and we look forward to getting started.”
During the environmental review that was completed nearly a year ago, local residents had expressed concern about traffic and congestion in the general area and throughout Mount Pleasant, particularly near the site and on Bradhurst Avenue and Grasslands Road.
There had similarly been concern about traffic on the overloaded Route 9A corridor where the roughly 150,000-square-foot Amazon warehouse is currently being built. That project is slated for completion later this year.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
