MacQuesten Development LLC is proposing to build a 10-story building in Yonkers that would have 76 apartments and ground-floor retail. An application is expected to be ready for discussion at the Yonkers Planning Board’s Oct. 13 meeting.
All of the units in the building would be priced as affordable housing, according to attorney Diana Kolev of the White Plains-based law firm DelBello Donnellan Weingarten Wise & Wiederkher LLP, which is representing MacQuesten.
The building would be constructed on a site composed of five lots at 38, 36 and 32 Main St. and 1 and 3 Riverdale Ave.
“The development is in compliance with zoning and we believe it furthers the purposes of the district,” Kolev said. “It’s a great location on the corner of Main Street and Riverdale Avenue. It’s only a block-and-a-half from the train station.”
She said the development would fill a need in the area which has only market-rate housing.
“The retail on the ground floor is proposed to be about 4,000 square feet,” Kolev said. She said that the nine stories of residential would be composed of 12 studios, 36 one-bedroom apartments, 23 two-bedroom apartments and five three-bedroom apartments. The parking would be located in the cellar and subcellar.
“We’re proposing 31 spaces. We are aware that the requirement per the code is above that and the applicant is proposing to make a payment-in-lieu for the remaining required spaces,” Kolev said.
The preliminary design calls for a laundry room along with a lounge and meeting room on the ground floor and an outdoor terrace on the roof. The roof would be a green roof design. The exterior would include aluminum panels as the siding.
Kolev said that MacQuesten Development is under contract to buy two of the lots that make up the development site. She said that the other three lots are owned by the Yonkers Community Development Agency (YCDA) and MacQuesten has been working with the agency and hopes it will designate it as a qualified sponsor to develop the properties. The YCDA owns approximately 90 properties in the city. It describes its mission as “to develop and maintain healthy, vibrant neighborhoods that provide economic opportunities for low and moderate income persons living in the city of Yonkers.”
The site is within the Richard Haas Historic District, which had been designated by the Yonkers City Council. Haas built his reputation as an internationally-renowned artist with a variety of works including outdoor murals. In the late 1990s, he painted three murals on buildings in downtown Yonkers: 35-37 Main St., 5 Riverdale Ave. and 36 Main St. The building at 36 Main St. ultimately was declared unsafe by the city and had to be demolished with the loss of a Haas mural.
Kolev said that MacQuesten is aware that its building would obstruct the Haas mural that is painted on the exterior of 5 Riverdale Ave. and has been proactive about proposing to work with the Haas group and also set aside funds to reconstruct or relocate that mural at an alternative location in Yonkers.
MacQuesten Development LLC was formed in 2003 by Rella Fogliano along with MacQuesten Construction Management LLC. She serves as the organization’s CEO. In 1988, she had founded MacQuesten General Contracting Inc., following the retirement of her father Sabino Fogliano. She had worked full-time for his construction company since her 1983 graduation from Fordham University.
MacQuesten has developed numerous commercial and residential projects in New York City and Westchester, including affordable housing and senior housing.
The company said it believes in green construction using sustainable construction materials and by designing to LEED standards. It also emphasizes that it is committed to the communities in which it develops.
