A large-scale residential development in downtown Yonkers reached a construction milestone this week.
Developers and city officials celebrated the “topping off” yesterday of one of two buildings that will make up Larkin Plaza, the $200 million mixed-use development at 49 Main St.
“Today is another step in making this waterfront a true destination,” Mayor Mike Spano said at the ceremony. “Larkin Plaza is the type of development that we know meets the growing demand of people who want to live in a wonderfully diverse community with this urban environment.”
Once complete, the 17-story tower will include 170 units of studios, one- and two-bedroom luxury apartments, along with ground-level retail space. A second, 25-story building will house 269 residential units.
A separate two-story building along Van der Donck Park will hold most of the complex”™s 35,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space. The development will also include a 539-vehicle, three-story parking garage.
Larkin Plaza is a joint venture of Yonkers-based Rising Development and RXR Realty LLC, the Long Island real estate company and longtime commercial office landlord in Westchester.
“We have said from the beginning of this project that Yonkers is well-positioned to emerge again as a great economic and social hub in Westchester,” said Scott Rechler, chairman and CEO of RXR. “While this project inspires new employment and an increased tax base for Yonkers, it will also provide a viable alternative to the high-priced housing of nearby New York City.”
The complex, which is on the south side of the city”™s 4-year-old Van der Donck Park and Saw Mill River walkway, is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2018, with its first occupants moving in the following year.
Seth Pinsky, executive vice president of RXR, said the project will reignite interest in the city and attract residents looking for a mix of urban and suburban lifestyle close to New York City.
“Yonkers has been overlooked for too long,” Pinsky said. “It is a city that has so many wonderful assets along the shores of the Hudson River and Saw Mill River.”
The Larkin Plaza apartment complex will include a landscaped roof terrace, concierge services, resident lounge and business center.
RXR plans to hold a second topping out ceremony for the larger tower in the summer of 2018.
City officials said the Larkin Plaza project stands as one of the largest private developments in downtown Yonkers in decades and will complement the substantial public and private investment the city”™s downtown has seen in recent years.
