Residential Plan for Armonk Lumberyard Site Draws Praise
The North Castle Planning Board and community members issued encouraging remarks last week for a proposed 24-unit multifamily residential structure at the site of the old lumberyard on Bedford Road in Armonk.
Developer Michael Fareri and his representatives told the board at an Apr. 21 public hearing that his project would contain 10 one-bedroom units and 14 two-bedroom units. He said he plans on selling the units as condominiums, although since there is a current demand in the marketplace for rental apartments he is considering finding tenants for the first several years.
Fareri appealed to the board to act as quickly as possible since the .8-acre parcel, which is in a residential multifamily zone, has been an eyesore for the neighborhood. A fire decimated the site more than a decade ago.
“This project has been dormant for 10 years,” he said. “It’s time that it gets done.”
This is Fareri’s third application for this parcel. In 2008 he received conditional approval for a retail and office building but abandoned the plan after the economy deteriorated. Two years later, he proposed an 18-unit residential structure.
As part of the project, Fareri has proposed that eight units be middle income housing under the Town of North Castle’s MIU program. The remaining 16 units would be market rate.
However, it is unclear whether those units would be built under the town’s program. The town board is currently working on a draft local law that is similar to the county’s model ordinance regulating the construction of affordable housing units under the settlement with the federal government. Under the current draft of that law, the town’s 34 middle income units would be maintained in perpetuity but future developments of at least eight units would be subject to the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing regulations.
Fareri said he has proposed the middle income units because that is the law on the books today. The middle income units have a higher income threshold and are overseen by the town.
Regardless of the outcome of that issue, Fareri said his project provides a type of housing stock that is in short supply in North Castle and would be a benefit to the community, particularly young adults who might not be able to afford a private house and older adults looking to downsize.
“This will provide an alternative…for you, myself and others where if you want to live in the community and not live in a single-family house, it would be an alternative,” Fareri said.
There would be an extensive landscaping plan and parking for 51 vehicles in garages and open parking lots. It would generate about $125,000 in tax revenue, 70 percent of which would go to the Byram Hills School District, with the town and county splitting the remaining portion, Fareri said.
No variances from the zoning board of appeals would be needed but Architectural Review Board approval is required.
Two speakers praised the plan and were optimistic it could move forward.
“We’ve been looking at that old lumberyard it seems like forever,” said resident John Cooley. “I remember the night that it burned. It’s time that something’s done.”
Robert Dean, owner of Naturescapes on MacDonald Avenue, which also contains residential units, said he receives three to five phone calls a month from people looking for apartments in the area.
“It would lend vitality to that end of the neighborhood, it’s 99 percent down here, (bring) more people to the shops that we’re trying to keep vital and I think it’s an outstanding project and I hope you guys approve it,” Dean said.
Planning Board Chairman Arthur Adelman echoed the two speakers’ sentiments.
“We think it looks good,” he said. “We think, as everybody has said, it’s been empty and an eyesore for 10 years and we’d like to see something done. We know you do good work. It looks beautiful and we have confidence that it’s going to work out well.”
The board closed the public hearing and referred the application to the ARB.
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/
