Westchester IDA approves financial incentives for Ossining affordable housing development

The Westchester County Industrial Development Agency has voted final approval of financial assistance for construction of a $94 million all-affordable apartment complex at 30 Water St. in the Village of Ossining.

The developer of the project is WBP Development LLC, which is based in Chappaqua. It will be constructed on a 3.4-acre site that formerly housed the village’s Department of Public Works. Ossining selected WBP Development as the preferred developer of the site. The project site is bounded by Water Street, Central Avenue, Main Street and Secor Road. The Kill Brook, also known as Sing Sing Kill, runs through the center of the property.

WBP would construct two new buildings with 109 units of rental apartments serving households with incomes from 30% to 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI). The development includes 40 one-bedroom units, 60 two-bedroom units, and nine three-bedroom units.

The developer is receiving from the IDA a sales tax exemption of $3,693,691 and a real property tax exemption of $1,967,333 for total financial assistance of $5,661,024. The project is expected to create 133 construction jobs.

Westchester County Executive George Latimer praised WBP Development for “this innovative project that will transform a former industrial site into an attractively designed, fully affordable housing development. This is the kind of housing that is critically important for Westchester’s economic vitality.”

IDA Chair Joan McDonald said, “In addition to creating much-needed affordable rental apartments and over 100 construction jobs, this $94 million development will also include cleaning up a brownfield site. This is a win-win for the village and county.”

In addition to apartments, the project will include parking for residents and the municipality, 3,745 square feet of retail space and 3,968 square feet of community meeting space as well as a linear park along the Sing Sing Kill greenway, which is a site currently in need of environmental remediation.

Residents will benefit from 2,300 square feet of amenity space that will include a roof deck, community areas, and a fitness facility. There will be on-site management offices and common laundry service.

The Ossining Manufactured Gas Plant was on the site from the 1850s to the 1940s and at one time had been owned by Con Edison. WPB Development and Con Edison reached an agreement under which the utility agreed to pay its fair share of contamination cleanup costs.