Ten-Story Apartment Complex Proposed for Former Good Counsel Site
By Andrew Vitelli – A ten-story housing complex, an assisted living facility, and graduate student housing for Pace Law School have been proposed for the former Our Lady of Good Counsel Academy High School site at 52 North Broadway in White Plains.
The plan, which was presented to the White Plains Common Council at a special meeting on June 27, would see both the Mapleton House and the Chapel of Divine Compassion preserved. The 400-unit residential housing, consisting of two connected buildings located near I-287 along the back of the 16-acre site, would require a zoning change by the city.
“The scale and type of the uses proposed for the development are consistent with the zoning ordinance, but there will need to be an amendment in order to accommodate the proposed development,” William Null, an attorney from Cuddy & Fedder, told the council. “It’s important to note that a number of the buildings on the existing site currently are higher than the 35-foot height [now permitted] as well.”
The assisted living facility, which would be operated by Sunrise Senior Living, would hold 125 beds, with 61 assisted living units and 29 memory care units. The graduate student housing would consist of 66 suites, in which residents would share a small kitchenette.
The project would keep approximately 2.5 acres of green space along North Broadway on the front of the property, Null said. Parking would be underground, allowing for greater open space.
“The proposed development was also designed to be a campus-like community so that we preserve green space, not set it up as a grid and not have buildings right next to each other,” Null said.
“It’s a really beautiful site,” added project designer Michael Berger of Perkins Eastman. “It’s a park like setting and we’re trying to maintain that and actually enhance it.”
The site had been owned by the Sisters of the Divine Compassion for 125 years and was the location of their mother house. In November, after much public outcry against the sale of the property and closing of Good Counsel High School, the Sisters’ leadership team announced they had sold the property to WP Development NB LLC. A statement released by the Sisters at the time said the financial burden of maintaining the site as the Sisters aged had led them to seek a buyer for the property. The Sisters will continue to use the Chapel of Divine Compassion as well as offices next to the chapel, the press release stated.
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