Mehranco LLC, which owns 1999 Central Park Ave. in Yonkers, has been before the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) seeking area variances so it can proceed with obtaining additional approvals to build a five-story self-storage facility with retail space on the ground floor at the site. Although it was due to be taken up at the ZBA’s Sept. 17 meeting, the matter was adjourned and it was not clear when it might be next heard.
The proposed building would be on a 1.69-acre site. It would contain a total of 110,335 square feet. Most of the building, 108,535 square feet, would house 760 storage units. There would be two first floor retail spaces and a sales office for the self-storage facility.
According to Attorney James Veneruso of the Yonkers-based law firm Veneruso, Curto, Schwartz & Curto LLP, the project needs variances that include exceeding maximum permitted height of 48 feet with a building that would be 74.5 feet high, having only four loading spaces when five are required, and not meeting requirements for the parking layout.
Veneruso said that the parking lot design includes 26 parking spaces, consisting of both perpendicular and parallel spaces with handicap accessibility. He said that the proposed development would have two one-way driveways, one entrance and one exit and that both will be along an existing jug handle on Central Park Avenue.
“Due to the considerable grade changes and geotechnical issues on this site, the proposed layout was designed in a manner that follows the slopes and plateaus of the rock face to facilitate the building and thereby minimize rock removal from an area that contains a considerable amount of rock,” Veneruso said.
Veneruso pointed out that back in 2015, the Zoning Board had issued variances for a proposal for the site that would have seen a Huffman Koos furniture store constructed. He said the variances requested for the self-storage and retail facility “will not produce an undesirable change in the character of the neighborhood nor will it be a detriment to nearby properties.”
Veneruso said that the proposal is more desirable than other possible uses that would be allowed at the site.
“The granting of the variances will enable construction of a brand new structure in place of an undeveloped parcel along a mixed-use roadway consisting of many commercial and residential uses and associated structures,” Veneruso said. “In addition, commercial activity associated and generated by a low-impact retail and self-storage use will add to the commercial vitality of the general area.”
He pointed out that there would be minimal to no impact relative to utilities, traffic and school district all while developing a good tax producer for the city.
“The variances related to parking space location and loading space are not of the type, extent or location that will result in an undesirable change since they will be mitigated in terms of visibility by the general public due to their incorporation into the property design and structure itself,” Veneruso said. “Due to the grade change upwards to the next building height impacts are diminished by the rise and will blend into the varied streetscape on the westerly side of Central Park Avenue. In addition, the wooded areas to the north and south of the proposed structure also help the structure blend into the existing conditions.”
A traffic study for the project provided expected traffic it would generate with a coffee shop in the ground floor retail space. It found there would be a maximum of 194 weekday trips during the peak morning hour, 79 trips during the peak hour afternoon hour on weekdays and 120 vehicle trips on Saturday during the midday peak hour.
