With the plans to convert the former United Hospital site in Port Chester into a mixed-use hub are set to move forward this month, a recent study found that nearly two out of three Port Chester residents support the $300 million project.
The study, conducted by Fort Lauderdale, Fla., research firm Fabrizio, Lee & Associates found that 64 percent of Port Chester residents were in favor of the plan, while 27 percent opposed it.
The firm conducted 200 telephone interviews  ̶  in both English and Spanish  ̶  of Port Chester residents, which found that 73 percent of them were aware such a project was in the works, and another 69 percent believed it would help the village become more competitive with neighboring municipalities.
The study was commissioned by United Hospital site owners PC 406 BPR, LLC. and PC 999 High Street Corp., both affiliates of Starwood Capital Group, the Greenwich real estate investment firm that purchased the site for $28 million in 2006.
Starwood’s project calls for a 135-room hotel, 217,000 square feet of medically geared office space, 90,000 square feet of boutique shops and restaurants, 500 residential rental units for young professionals, 230 55-and-over age-restricted housing units and nearly an acre of public open space on the 15-acre site. The site is at 406 Boston Post Road across from Port Chester Shopping Center and next to Interstates 287 and 95.
During the village’s Jan. 4 Board of Trustees meeting, Mayor Dennis G. Pilla, long a proponent of Starwood’s plans, said the village expects to “move forward” with the project this month. Pilla could not be reached for comment at press time.
Port Chester Assistant Director of Planning and Development Jesica Youngblood said  “everything is going swimmingly” in regards to the project, and that Starwood is currently producing a draft final environmental impact statement.
Following FEIS and zoning approval, which Youngblood anticipated should happen this year, the project will then move into the site plan process. She added the village board, the lead agency, will hold an executive session on a certain aspect of the project on Jan. 19.
Construction is anticipated to begin in 2018.
“It’s really nice to see the support from this survey follow Starwood’s tagline, ”˜Something new for Port Chester,”™” she said. “It certainly is a good thing for Port Chester.”
The study found that reasons for supporting the project included the 2,800 jobs it is expected to create, the roughly $2 million it will provide annually to the village’s school district and the predicted boost it will provide to local businesses. Officials have also said they will invest $4 million toward road improvements.
Opposition has surfaced regarding the traffic uptick the development may cause on an already congested stretch of Boston Post Road as well as from residents of 999 High St., a 134-unit rental building constructed in 1970 to house workers of the former hospital, which has been closed for 11 years.
A December 2014 traffic study completed by Hawthorne-based TRC Engineers, Inc. estimated that the development would create an additional 979 vehicles during weekday morning peak hours, an additional 897 vehicles during weekday evening peak hours and an additional 986 vehicles during Saturday morning peak hours.
Still, the study found that those who were briefed on the project after being previously unaware of its details were 70 percent in favor of it. Starwood first submitted a draft environmental impact statement in spring 2014, and resubmitted updated plans in July. Project spokesman Tom Corsillo said no new changes have been made to plans for the site.
“There is a very high level of awareness among Port Chester residents of the proposal for the old United Hospital site,” said David Lee, a partner at Fabrizio, Lee & Associates. “But not only are the people aware of the project, they are overwhelmingly in support of it by better than a two-to-one margin.”
Starwood officials said they hoped the mixed-use development would complement Port Chester’s evolving downtown. Other current projects include The Castle, the $50 million mixed-use luxury development with 120 residential units and ground-floor office space at 201 Willett Ave, which began leasing in December and is expected to welcome its first tenants later this month, as well as a maximum 79-unit apartment building with 14,000 square feet of ground-floor retail at the vacant Coney’s Lot site at the intersection of Westchester Avenue and Main Street that is also expected to be discussed at the Jan. 19 Board of Trustees meeting.
Like the United Hospital project, the Coney’s Lot proposal by G&S Port Chester LLC has drawn concerns over its potential traffic impact.
Sounds like 140 out of 200 surveyed agree with the development. Not much of a sample when there’s 28,000 plus living in Port Chester. Nice piece of propaganda. I wonder how many people in the survey actually own the property they live in.