WP to provide $4.7M for former Berkeley College site redevelopment

The White Plains Common Council has approved providing a $4,752,000 grant from the city’s Affordable Housing Assistance Fund (AHAF) to support WBP Development LLC’s redevelopment of the former Berkeley College site at 97-109 Church St. and 6 Cottage Place in downtown White Plains. WBP Development was co-founded by William Balter and Robert Wilder Jr., and is based in Chappaqua.

According to White Plains Planning Commissioner Christopher Gomez, the approved condominium project will consist of 10 studios, 49 one-bedroom, 36 two-bedroom, and 13 three-bedroom condos to be offered at sales prices set at 80% of the Westchester County Area Median Income (AMI) with household income eligibility up to 100% of AMI.

“It is anticipated that City of White Plains government employees and Westchester County government employees will be granted preference for 20% of the units, or 21 condominiums, subject to the New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) Department’s Office of Fair and Equitable Housing confirming that the demographic makeup of such populations would not have a disparate impact on a class of people,” Gomez said.

Gomez said that the use of the city’s AHAF funds to support WBP Development’s project is consistent with the goals and objectives of the city’s Affordable Housing Guidelines and the recently adopted One White Plains Comprehensive Plan.

According to Attorney Janet Giris of the White Plains-based law firm DelBello Donnellan Weingarten Wise & Wiederkehr LLP, who is representing the developer, the project would not be feasible without the money from White Plains. She said it represents about 11% of the total subsidies the project would receive. Giris said that the total project is expected to cost $78,366,727.

New York State Homes and Community Renewal through the Affordable Homeownership Opportunity Program is due to provide $13.6 million for the 68 condominium units at the 99 Church St. building and $8 million for the 40 condos at 6 Cottage Place.

The project has been awarded $2,040,000 through New York State Affordable Housing Corporation (AHC) for the 99 Church St. building but AHC did not have any more money that could be used for the 6 Cottage Place part of the project.

Giris said that WBP Development was seeking funding from Westchester County through its New Homes Land Acquisition and Housing Implementation Funds amounting to approximately $14,420,000.

The funding from the City of White Plains is intended to be paid out over time, when the work at 99 Church St. and 6 Cottage Place is 30%, 60% and 100% complete.

Berkeley College closed its White Plains campus in the summer of 2021 and moved operations to its New York City campus effective with the semester than began in the fall of 2021. In June of this year, the Common Council gave site plan and special permit approval to plans for the adaptive reuse and renovation of the buildings that had been used by Berkeley. The project initially was going to have a mix of condominiums and rental units. In September, the developer asked to modify the plans and make all of the units for-sale condos. Giris said at the time that the developer determined that the changes were necessary “to make the project financially feasible.”