Rye Country Day School, which operates on a 34.4-acre campus at 3 Cedar St. in Rye, has developed a plan to enhance its facilities by adding a new academic building on the western portion of its property and new athletic facilities on the eastern portion of the campus. It is seeking site plan approval from the City of Rye.
In November of 2022, the school acquired approximately nine acres of land from the New York State Thruway Authority, expanding the size of its campus to 34.4 acres. The new plan would increase usage of those nine acres.
New athletic facilities proposed for the eastern side of the property would include a new field house with an indoor hockey rink and support areas including locker rooms, office space, storage, and multipurpose space. There would be an artificial turf sports field that would be elevated above a new parking lot containing 180 spaces. There presently are 306 parking spaces on the school’s campus, which would be expanded to 459 parking spaces by the proposal, an increase of 153 spaces.
There would be a pedestrian tunnel constructed under Boston Post Road to connect the eastern and western parts of the campus. Access to the pedestrian tunnel would be through the athletic facilities and a new structure containing a staircase and elevator on the west side of Boston Post Road near the existing admissions building.
According to Jonathan Kraut of the Purchase-based law firm Harferist Kraut & Perlstein LLP, land uses adjacent to the campus are residential to the north and west, and a highway corridor to the south and east.
The main components of the construction plans include: removal of Parking Lot 1 and development of the new academic building on the western portion of the campus; removal of the existing ice rink building, modest expansion to the squash court area and expanded parking along the western portion of the campus with a drop-off and pick-up loop to improve traffic circulation on Grandview Avenue; development of new athletic facilities consisting of an artificial turf field, ice rink, field house with an indoor track and other related support areas on the eastern portion of the campus; development of parking below the new field on the eastern portion of the campus; a drop-off and pick-up loop road around the athletic facilities on the eastern portion of the campus; and the pedestrian tunnel under Boston Post Road for use by students, staff and visitors along with new traffic signals installed at the intersection of Cedar Street and Boston Post Road.
The new two-story academic building would be approximately 40,250 square feet and would be situated where the school’s Parking Lot 1 now exists. The parking spaces that would be lost would be replaced with an expanded parking lot in the vicinity of the currently existing ice rink that will be demolished.
“The new building is contemplated to contain modem dedicated spaces to foster learning and innovation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics where students can learn and apply their knowledge in a variety of settings, including various labs and flexible classroom spaces,” Kraut said.
Kraut said that the school is proposing to remove the existing ice rink building because it is reaching the end of its expected lifespan and would need significant improvements and upgrading if not replaced. A new facility for playing squash would be built on the west side of the Scott A. Nelson Athletics Center in a portion of the area currently occupied by the ice rink.
The new parking area proposed along the western edge of the campus would provide approximately 153 spaces. Existing Parking Lot 3 will be converted to a landscaped area with a reconfigured road loop to be used solely for lower school drop-off and pick-up.
All student parking would be relocated to a new parking facility on the eastern portion of the campus across Boston Post Road. Kraut pointed out that the eastern portion of the campus is presently vacant with the exception of a trail used for practicing cross-country racing.
The site has been devoted to educational uses since 1869, first operating as the Rye Female Seminary, before officially becoming Rye Country Day School in 1921. The school currently serves youngsters in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade from Westchester County, Fairfield County and New York City.
