The entity Dar Holding 164 LLC is asking Yonkers for approvals to convert a former school building it acquired from the city into affordable apartments. The property is located at 164 Ashburton Ave., and formerly was known as Public School #12. The former school building sits on an approximately 0.86-acre parcel. The site fronts on Ashburton Avenue across from the intersection with Jones Place, with the Old Croton Aqueduct Trailway running along the rear of the site. The neighborhood consists of a mix of single-family, multifamily, and commercial uses.
In September of last year, Yonkers approved a local law to authorize the sale of the land and building to the developer for $500,000 for the purpose of redevelopment.
According to Attorney Steven A. Accinelli of the Yonkers-based law firm Veneruso, Curto, Schwartz & Accinelli LLP, the property had been “abandoned, vacant and deteriorated for a number of years and constitutes a distressed and underutilized site.”
Accinelli said that the property has on it a number of parking spaces as well as the four-story T-shaped building.
“The proposed project will preserve and adaptively reuse the existing improvements to create a 29-unit new and affordable residential multifamily development, with 20 off-street parking spaces proposed,” Accinelli said. “The proposed unit mix is 1 studio, 15 one-bedroom, 8 two-bedroom, and 5 three-bedroom (apartments).”
Accinelli said that in addition to creating the dwelling units the developer would complete comprehensive interior and exterior rehabilitation of the building including structural, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing work. Sprinklers and alarm systems would be installed throughout the building. He said there also would be changes made to comply with requirements for ADA accessibility. The building would receive a new roof, brick resurfacing, new windows, new entrance doors, railings, fencing and stairs. The existing 37 parking spaces would be reduced to 20, allowing for less impervious surface and more green space.
The existing gymnasium would be split into two levels to increase floor space available for new apartments and would accommodate six units designed specifically to be ADA accessible. The existing driveway connecting to Ashburton Avenue would continue to be used.
The plans were sent to the Westchester County Planning Board, which has reviewed them and submitted comments to Yonkers.
Bernard Thombs, chairman of the county’s Planning Board said, “We appreciate the proposed adaptive reuse of the former school building, and we agree that the proposed development would be appropriate as it would add new residential use near multiple Bee-Line bus routes and commercial services. We do, however, note that the front yard area is proposed to accommodate one ADA-accessible parking space. The County Planning Board consistently recommends that parking be located to the rear of buildings, in order to maintain active and pedestrian-oriented street frontages. The city should work with the applicant to determine if a suitable location for the required ADA parking space is possible within the existing rear parking lot, which would allow for the front yard area to act as additional greenspace, or potential building expansion.”
The county questioned a lack of a dedicated pedestrian connection between the building and Ashbuton Avenue and also called for the developer to provide storage space for bicycles and a safe place for the recharging of e-bikes.
“We note that no indication has been provided towards the utilization of the rooftop,” Thombs said. “We recommend that the applicant consider incorporating a solar array or a green roof in order to provide further environmental remediation within the site.”
