Mt. Pleasant Town Board Praises Revamped Medical Village Plan
The Mount Pleasant Town Board last week praised a revised Medical Science Village proposed for Valhalla that eliminates the residential component and scales back the intensity of retail for the 80-acre site.
Developer John Fareri unveiled his latest plan before the board on June 4, dropping his original request to build 150 rental units for residents, fellows and other staff working at Westchester Medical Center. The property is located near the medical center and New York Medical College.
At last week’s work session, Fareri responded to the board’s previous opposition to the housing component of his plan.
“We tried to address your concerns,” he said.
When Fareri unveiled the housing component earlier this year, it was sharply criticized by town board members. Some of the board’s concerns included its potential impact on neighboring residents and the placement of the apartments above the retail spaces.
Aside from removing the housing, Fareri also scaled back the scope of the retail plans from the originally proposed 300,000 square feet to about 70,000 square feet, project executive Bruce Komiske said. The entire project is now less than 800,000 square feet, Fareri said.
Earlier this spring, town officials said the retail component was too large and could hurt local businesses. Among the retail uses now proposed is a healthy food grocery store.
Fareri is continuing to propose a 120-room hotel and conference center and a living science center as part of the project’s first phase. Komiske said the hotel is intended primarily for guests who have family members at the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital and Westchester Medical Center and for outpatients who do not want to go home the night of a surgery.
“This is something Mount Pleasant should be proud of,” Fareri said.
Fareri owns 20 acres of the 80-acre site, with the project’s Phase One proposed for five of his 20 acres. He is seeking to lease the other 60 acres from the county. In an interview following his appearance, Fareri said he hoped to finalize the lease with the county within two months.
Komiske told the board that if the town approved the proposal, phase two of Fareri’s project would call for a biotech center.
After hearing the revised plans, board members extolled the concessions made by Fareri.
“You responded to the board’s concerns,” Councilman Peter DeMilio said.
Supervisor Joan Maybury told Fareri last week that the board looks forward to continuing its discussions with him, adding that the project would bring additional tax revenue to the town.
The next step for Fareri and his representatives would be to work with the planning board to write a new zone to allow Fareri’s project to be approved. The town board would then need to agree to rezoning the parcel.
The five-acre property that would be used for the hotel, retail and the museum is currently zoned half-acre residential.
