RBH Group, led by Ron Beit, is asking White Plains to make changes in a previously approved project to build a Teachers Village development at 1 Lyon Place and 10 Lyon Place in the city.
The developer is asking for changes in its approved site plan to make Teachers Village White Plains a 213-unit community with 99 units marketed to educators and other workforce professionals in the area and 114 units marketed to independent living seniors. The approved plans allow 212 apartments. In addition, the plan would be changed to reduce the commercial retail component from 8,300 square feet to approximately 4,531 square feet. The balance of the space, approximately 3,769 square feet, would be used for senior amenity and programming space.
RBH wants 13 units to remain restricted to residents at or below 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI). In addition, it would designate 86 units to be income restricted, which it describes as “providing more workforce housing for the City of White Plains and Westchester County.” Of these, seven units would be restricted to residents at or below 80% of AMI and 79 units would be restricted to residents with incomes at or below 120% of AMI.
RBH says that the workforce units would be marketed to educators and staff from district, independent, and charter schools in White Plains and across Westchester County. It points out that it has other Teachers Village developments, including in Newark, Jersey City, the Bronx and Atlanta. RBH says that the White Plains units, if not occupied by educators, would be marketed to other qualified workforce professionals such as health care workers, first responders, police and firefighters.
The senior units would be initially marketed to retired educators from area schools but would be made available to qualified residents of all types as well. RBH described its development as “helping the city and county recruit and retain more teachers and other educators, creating wonderful apartments for these and other working professionals, while also creating housing for seniors that allows them to remain in the community longer and thrive.”
The building at 1 Lyon Place is planned to be 13 floors with 150 apartments. There would be 24 studios, 104 one-bedrooms, and 22 two-bedroom units. The workforce units will be located on the first through third floors with the apartments for seniors on floors four through 13.
The building at 10 Lyon Place would be five stories with 63 residential apartments. There would be 29 studios, 25 one-bedrooms, and 9 two-bedrooms. All units in the building would be priced as workforce housing.
RBH said that Teachers Village White Plains is receiving tax-exempt and taxable bond financing from the Westchester County Local Development Corporation.
“Together with ground lease financing and sponsor equity, the bond proceeds will create an efficient capital structure that lowers overall financing costs,” RBH said. “This in turn allows Teachers Village White Plains to create a total of 99 income-restricted workforce units — 86 more restricted units than included in the original project– thus benefiting the city and county.”
