Mt. Pleasant Ponders Two More Warehouses Near Route 9A Corridor

The owner of a Hawthorne corporate park is proposing to build a pair of new warehouses on the last remaining parcel at the site in the vicinity of a busy stretch of Route 9A.

Similarly sized one-story warehouses totaling just over 70,000 square feet are planned for 14 and 16 Skyline Drive, representatives for the applicant, RMD 14-16 Skyline LLC, told the Mount Pleasant Planning Board last week. The building at 14 Skyline is proposed to be 34,738 square feet while a 36,360-square-foot structure has been proposed for 16 Skyline. Ten percent of each building would be set aside for office space.

Rocco Spandorio, one of the representatives for the applicant, said when the 1988 master plan for the property was approved by the Town of Mount Pleasant, seven buildings were proposed for the site, five of which have been built.

Four loading docks and 109 parking spaces are proposed between the two buildings, each rising to 35 feet in height. The vacant parcel is a little over eight acres of the 21-acre Skyline Drive properties

Spandorio said the applicant is prepared to work with the state Department of Transportation (DOT) to add a traffic signal near the southern end of Skyline Drive.

“We did submit a traffic study as part of our application and it was recommended that a traffic signal be installed at the junction of Skyline Drive and (Route) 9A at the south end, and we intend to follow that through if the application is approved,” he said.

Route 9A is one of the areas in town that has been a concern for Mount Pleasant officials, residents and motorists, particularly in the vicinity of the new Amazon facility near Belmont Road. Skyline Drive is south of the Amazon warehouse that is expected to be completed sometime next year.

James Collins, the chairman of the Planning Board, which declared itself lead agency for the upcoming site plan review, asked the applicant to consider installing rooftop solar panels. The town has hoped to increase the amount of renewable energy it generates without having an excessive number of ground-mounted arrays in open spaces or in parking lots.

The town’s Conservation Advisory Council (CAC) Chairman Steven Kavee said one of the chief concerns for the council is the potential for traffic generation and intensity, which needs to be closely scrutinized. He also supported any effort to increase solar energy production.

“I think it would be very beneficial and work toward how the review is considered under SEQRA, frankly,” Kavee said.

Spandorio said his team would work with town planning consultant Patrick Cleary and town staff on the specifics of the plan.

In addition to declaring itself lead agency, the Planning Board also referred the matter to the town’s Architectural Review Board.

Change of Use Proposal

Another proposal on the Route 9A corridor is a request for the property owner at 40 Saw Mill River Rd. to expand surface parking by 116 spaces to accommodate conversion of the building to be exclusively for medical uses.

Project engineer Diego Villareale said the current mixed use of roughly 40 percent medical and 60 percent traditional office space isn’t working well given the changing market conditions.

Villareale said increasing the number of parking spaces at the property is not required by Mount Pleasant’s zoning code, but as a practical matter, the change in building occupants will require more room for vehicles. The additional spaces would bring the number of spaces at the site to 350, he said.

“The parking is being constructed in anticipation of the tenants that are going to be in the building itself,” said Villareale, who added that it might take up to five years before all tenants provide medical services.

Additional parking will be installed on the western side of the building and a connection to parking in the rear will also be made, he said. All the parking will be within the confines of the property line.