A Westchester development company”™s plan to build an 81-unit apartment complex in Elmsford marketed for professionals was among three housing projects recently approved for tax-break incentives by the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency.
The $26.9 million Elmsford project and two redevelopments of affordable housing for seniors in Mamaroneck and New Rochelle total $90 million in private investment and will create 232 jobs, Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino said when announcing the IDA”™s Aug. 14 votes. The county IDA stands to receive from project developers more than $330,000 in transaction fees, which Astorino said will be used to support small businesses and stimulate job creation.
SME Development Partners L.L.C., a company formed by two executives at AVR Realty Co. in Yonkers, has received site plan approval from the village of Elmsford for its approximately $27 million project to build market-rate housing at 290 E. Main St. The 4.5-acre property, owned by AVR Realty since 1966, Â is the former site of a Howard Johnson”™s motel and has been vacant since 2007.
SME Development”™s principals are brothers Mark Eickelbeck, chief operating officer and executive vice president of AVR Homebuilders, and Steven Eickelbeck, AVR Realty”™s director of construction management. The Elmsford project is their company’s first, Steven Eickelbeck said.
Eickelbeck said the 92,000-square-foot hillside project includes a 71-unit, four-story residence over a covered garage and a 10-unit, 2.5-story building in addition to street-level retail space. County officials said the project will create 123 construction and permanent jobs and increase the property tax revenue from the Elmsford parcel nearly fourfold from $130,000 to $425,000.
County IDA directors gave preliminary approval to $650,000 in sales tax exemptions for construction purchases and a $249,000 mortgage recording tax exemption. The board”™s approval is contingent upon the developer adding affordable housing units to the project and the tax-exemption benefits will be pro-rated to exclude the development”™s retail portion, which IDAs in New York are prohibited from backing with financial incentives.
Eickelbeck said SME will purchase the property from AVR Realty. Construction could begin in about six weeks, he said, and is expected to be be completed in 12 to 14 months.
Eickelbeck in a press release said the county support “will help me accelerate this project and get shovels in the ground this fall. The sooner we get started, the sooner we can provide much needed rental housing for the county”™s professional workforce.”
In New Rochelle, Mountco Construction and Development Corp. received financial backing from the county IDA for the Scarsdale company”™s $47.4 million project to purchase and renovate Washington House Apartments, a 211-unit federally subsidized housing complex for senior citizens at 60 Union Ave.
The developer will receive $23 million in tax-exempt bond financing through the IDA, $383,500 in sales tax exemptions for project purchases, and a $299,000 mortgage recording tax exemption.
County officials said the project will create 78 construction and permanent jobs. The Washington House rehabilitation will begin in October and take about a year to complete, they said.
John Madeo, executive vice president of Mountco, in a press release said the renovation project “will modernize the homes of hundreds of Westchester residents and make them more environmentally friendly too.”
County officials said Mountco will hire minority and women contractors recruited through Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon and the city of New Rochelle. In addition, youths will be hired for the project through the New Rochelle Municipal Housing Authority”™s NY Youth Work Construction Training Program.
In the village of Mamaroneck, Wilder Balter Partners Inc. has proposed a $15.8 million project to purchase and renovate Mamaroneck Towers, a 75-unit affordable housing complex for seniors at 235-237 Halstead Ave. IDA directors approved $13.5 million in tax-exempt bond financing, $90,000 in sales tax exemptions, and a $177,580 mortgage recording tax exemption to assist the Elmsford company”™s project, which county officials said will create 31 construction and permanent jobs.
Renovations are expected to begin in December and to be completed by November 2015.
