Mamaroneck at work on industrial redevelopment plan

A 20-year plan to redevelop and rezone a long-blighted industrial area in the village of Mamaroneck for mixed uses would benefit both the village and neighboring towns, according to a committee preparing a master plan for the area.

Representatives from rePLACE Urban Studio, the Manhattan-based design firm hired by the village of Mamaroneck Industrial Area Redevelopment Committee (IAC) as consultants for the redevelopment project, presented plans to a crowd of about 50 residents and local officials that would transform the roughly 70-acre area of auto body shops, architectural and design firms, machine shops, warehouses, parking lots and other largely industrial properties into what they called a “24/7 concept” of restaurants, recreational facilities and mixed-use buildings

A Mamaroneck landmark, the Hole in the Wall Cafe closed its doors on Center Avenue in 2014.

Murphy Brothers Contracting Co. recently opened this 40.000-square-foot storage facility behind its Waverly Avenue headquarters in Mamaroneck.

This Fayette Avenue office and warehouse building was vacated in May by Archie Comic Publications Inc. when the company relocated its headquarters to Pelham.

Auto body and service shops like these on Center Avenue make up 17 perc ent of businesses in the Mamaroneck Flats industrial district.

An industrial rail spur crosses the Mamaroneck Flats area, where manufacturers and wholesalers account for 27 percent of commercial activity.

The industrial area is bordered by Interstate 95 to the west; Metro-North Railroad tracks to the east; Rockland Avenue to the south; and the Sheldrake River to the north. The majority of proposed development would take place on Fenimore Road, Waverly Avenue and Hoyt Avenue. The area is divided by railroad tracks from the village”™s main commercial corridor along Mamaroneck Avenue.

Erik Kath, associate director at rePLACE Urban Studio, said that physical divide has isolated the industrial zone, commonly known as “The Flats,” especially during evening hours, while the nearby blocks of restaurants, bars and stores on downtown Mamaroneck Avenue remain bustling into the night.

“As soon as 6:30 happens, the industrial area starts to become quiet,” Kath said. With redevelopment, “What is a loading or parking zone during the day can become a street cafe or cafe seating during the night.”

“It”™s all about having a mix of uses,” he added. “A healthy street is a street diverse in its use. That”™s what we”™re thinking about for Waverly and a section of Hoyt.”

The area, according to proposed plans, would be anchored by an indoor sports center with soccer, lacrosse and basketball facilities, among other sports. That would be complemented by food trucks, restaurants and pop-up shops along Hoyt Avenue, and three-story and four-story buildings with industrial, retail and office spaces on Waverly Avenue.

Kath said that Center and Fayette avenues have “very interesting” building stock and properties, including an old rubber factory on Fayette that would be well-suited for future business. Plans also call for a walking trail along the Sheldrake River.

The plans do not include any new residential units for the district, which currently has 17 residential buildings.

Though the district already has been built up with an estimated 1 million to 2 million square feet of construction, another 700,000 square feet is available to be developed, said project consultant Peter Syrett, rePLACE Urban Studio”™s founding partner. Development there is “far from maxed out,” he added.

The Oct. 27 meeting followed two public workshops in May and June that called for ideas and suggestions from residents. A boutique hotel, art galleries, live-work buildings and weekend food markets were among the features suggested for the area over the past 10 months.

The village”™s 2012 comprehensive plan emphasizes the need to develop the industrial area, which has seen many contracting businesses, auto body shops and the headquarters of Archie Comic Publications Inc. leave the Flats and Mamaroneck in recent years. According to the consultant report, manufacturing and wholesale businesses make up 27 percent of the industrial area; general sales and services, 26 percent; residential, 23 percent; auto-related services, 17 percent; and public works operations, 1 percent. Five percent of the district”™s properties are vacant. More than half of the area, 57 percent, lies in a flood zone.

The consultants broke the plans down into short term, medium-range and long-term phases. In the one-to-five year “catalytic project” phase, the recreational facility would be constructed. The five-to-10-year goal would be to implement mixed-use developments on Waverly Avenue as well as the riverwalk trail, while the 10- to 20-year plan calls fro an industrial build-out along the dsitrict”™s eastern buffer.

Syrett told the roughly 50 area residents and municipal officials at he meeting that the industrial area is the “doorway” into Mamaroneck for many motorists and emphasized its potential for economic growth.

Consultants pointed to examples of existing urban developments in cities like Philadelphia, San Diego and Toronto, and compared the redevelopent proposals for Mamraoneck o the commercial developments of other Westchester municipalities, including Yonkers, Port Chester and New Rochelle.

Village resident James Abbate, owner of James Abbate Enterprises Inc., said a village like Mamaroneck could not handle the same uptick in traffic that a larger city like Yonkers can.

“It”™s a beautiful plan but a lot of work has to be done before that can happen because traffic is already horrendous,” said Abbate. “And for all of this to take place in our small village – I can”™t see anything but catastrophe. We”™re a village, not a city.”

Andrew Spatz, chairman of the Industrial Area Committee, replied that the traffic issue “is paramount. This is obviously something very much in the forefront. We”™re not brushing this off.”

Formed last year, the eight-member volunteer committee was tasked with developing an industrial area master plan that would bring economic vitality and environmental sustainability to that western end of Mamaroneck. Spatz said the redevelopment will benefit not just the village but also the surrounding region.

“This vision wasn”™t just micro in nature but macro in nature ,benefiting our neighbors in the towns of Mamaroneck, Larchmont, Harrison and Rye,” Spatz said. “Everybody is a stakeholder. With this study we embark on a future that ensures economic and environmental longevity.”