Luxury apartment buildings will soon be rising in sections of New Rochelle that have been traditionally zoned for commercial buildings.
Ralph Rossi, owner of RMA Development LLC, and Tony Hammel, CEO of Equity Land Developers LLC, plan to begin construction this spring on luxury rentals near the train station. Both said the density bonuses they received made it possible for them to build larger buildings than previously allowed. They said building in that area is a good economic opportunity.
In his State of the City address March 24, Mayor Noam Bramson said his main goal is to revitalize the city and attract young professionals with new housing near the train along with a revitalized downtown. He said the City Council will consider and vote on new zoning that will bring in developments that will benefit the community.
- A rendering of The Lombardi.
“To actually acquire our land, they”™ll have to deliver,” Bramson said in the speech. “And they”™ll have to put up the construction financing necessary to build.”
Rossi was approved for a downtown density bonus floating overlay zone, which applies to the district on North Avenue between Burling Lane and Memorial Highway and is intended for the development of mixed-use projects that provide public benefit. It will allow Rossi to build a 5-story building on the corner of 371 North Ave. and 15 Park Place.
Rossi, who owns three businesses in New Rochelle, said about a year ago the city began to allow developers to apply for bonuses to build larger buildings in the area. Rossi said previous zoning laws were outdated and prohibited building large buildings.
“The current council and the mayor have made a concerted effort to change that, and because of that they are now beginning to spur development, my project being one of them,” Rossi said. He predicts more development happening along North Avenue into downtown.
With the availability of the density bonus, it made economic sense to develop the land, which until recently was the site of his contracting and home supply businesses Pratt & D”™Angelo and Xpress Bath, Rossi said.
He said he received the bonus because his building, The Lombardi, will bring architectural excellence to an undeveloped area. The Lombardi will have 48 rental apartments, 10 percent of which will be set aside for affordable housing, and commercial space on the ground floor.
The one- and two-bedroom apartments will feature high-end finishes, 9-foot ceilings, gourmet kitchens, stainless steel appliances, hardwood floors, granite countertops and natural light, Rossi said. Residents will have access to an on-site fitness facility.
The buildings are designed for young professionals who commute into the city and empty nesters downsizing from larger houses, Rossi said.
Rossi said he has not planned the ground-floor retail yet, but it could be a mix of tenants including a yoga studio available to the public and to Lombardi residents.
The building will be an early adopter of the city”™s private art betterment program, which requires buildings of more than 50,000 square feet to incorporate a visual artistic element. The Lombardi will feature stained glass that will illuminate at night in the spire of the building”™s tower. Rossi said he will commission a local artist. “Most developers would not do something like that unless they were enticed by their local municipality,” he said.
- The Hammel, phase 2.
He has already vacated the building and relocated his businesses within New Rochelle. He said demolition will begin in April or May when he gets approval from Con Edison. He also awaits approval from the planning board and from the county Industrial Development Agency, which will vote on his request for a sales and mortgage tax exemption. Both committees will meet at the end of April.
Hammel, of Equity Land Developers, will use a neighborhood business-transit oriented floating district to build a five-story 36-unit luxury apartment on the corner of 45 Burling Lane and 70 Grand St. The bonus he received applies to the triangular area immediately north of the Transit Center and allows developers to build higher density projects to improve vacant, underutilized or deteriorated sites. The space was previously zoned for one- or two-story businesses, which Hammel said did not make sense for the area.
Hammel is building the second phase of the Hammel, which opened in 2013 across the street from the new site. The second Hammel apartment will replace the location of The Guidance Center, a mental health center.
Hammel, who grew up in New Rochelle with his brother and co-founder Jimmy, said 10 percent of the apartments will be set aside for affordable housing. The apartments will feature 9-foot ceilings, granite countertops, hardwood floors, crown molding and stainless steel appliances, he said. The building will have a gym that will also be accessible to tenants in the first Hammel building.
Hammel said construction will begin in May, and the building should open 10 months after construction begins. He said the project will cost more than $10 million.
The first Hammel building filled up within four months and has not had a vacancy since, Hammel said. He said there is high demand because there is a low supply of new housing near the train for high-caliber tenants.
The tenants in the first Hammel building are mostly 30-year-old couples who commute to the city and doctors that work at the nearby Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital. He said demand is high for luxury buildings.
“There”™s not a lot of housing stock right now for that type of tenant,” he said.
