Developers line up for Lighthouse site

The village of Sleepy Hollow has received “a lot of interest” from entities who want to build the Lighthouse Landing project on the Hudson riverfront, Mayor Phil Zegarelli said.

More than 30 developers requested information and are interested developing the 100-acre site of a former GM plant, he said.

“I”™m very gratified that so many have voiced interest,” he said.

A development agreement between General Motors and Roseland Properties L.L.C. of Short Hills, N.J., was terminated in December.

Roseland was to develop a mixed-use project at the site, called Lighthouse Landing, and had spent nearly five years performing environmental impact and site plan reviews with the village.

Now, with no developer on board, Zegarelli said the village and GM will review the interested applicants to determine who will in fact build Lighthouse Landing.

Before that happens, the village must issue a special permit to build on the site, which could happen at the next village board meeting. The special permit is part of the administrative process that must be completed before any building can start on the site.

Zegarelli acknowledged only about 10 to twelve of the interested developers have the necessary financial wherewithal to complete the project as it currently stands.

“It”™s up to GM and ourselves to winnow out the group and decide who we believe the best person is to pick up the ball and run,” the mayor said.

In 2006, Roseland/GM submitted a final environmental impact statement (FEIS), which proposed 1,250 residential units; 132,000 square feet of retail space; and 35,000 square feet of office space.
The village responded by saying the number of residential units should be further reduced to 1,177.

GM then filed a notice of claim, often the precursor to a lawsuit, against the village arguing the size of the project is smaller than it needs to be, according to the court documents.

In August, the neighboring village of Tarrytown also filed a lawsuit, one that would seek to reduce the size of the project in order to mitigate the traffic impact on Tarrytown. Tarrytown would like to see the number of residential units cut in half, according to that lawsuit.

Zegarelli said the developers who expressed interest want to build Lighthouse Landing as a mixed-use development similar to what has already been proposed.

He also said the village will have “a heavy hand” in deciding which developer is eventually chosen.