The trend toward replacing office buildings with apartment buildings along the Platinum Mile in Westchester County moved up another notch Monday night when the owner of 701-777 Westchester Ave. sought a zoning change that would set the stage for the demolition of one building to allow the construction of a 5-story, 360-unit apartment building.
Senlac Ridge Partners of Morristown, New Jersey, asked the White Plains Common Council to allow use of the Planned Campus Development Overlay zone at the office park. The 54.8-acre property is composed of multiple tax lots owned by separate but affiliated entities, according to the White Plains-based law firm McCullough, Goldberger & Staudt LLP, which represents the petitioner.
The entities are: 701 Westchester Avenue Owner SPE LLC; 707/709 Westchester Avenue Owner SPE LLC; 711 Westchester Avenue Owner SPE LLC; and 777 Westchester Avenue Owner SPE LLC.
Apartment developments already are taking place at nearby office parks along Westchester Avenue at 1133 Westchester Ave., 3 Westchester Park Drive and 105 Corporate Park Drive.
The petition to amend zoning was referred along with a master plan prepared by Minno & Wasko Architects and Planners, layout plans prepared by JMC Planning Engineering Landscape Architecture & Land Surveying PLLC and planning and fiscal studies prepared by AKRF Inc. to the city”™s planning board, environmental officer and law department.
Also among the items referred for consideration were a full environmental assessment form, as well as stormwater and traffic reports.
Representatives of owner/developer Senlac Ridge Partners previously met with the Common Council at a work session to present preliminary concepts for the proposal.
Giorgios Vlamis, a founding partner of Senlac Ridge Partners, said, “We are not optimistic about the post-pandemic future of the office building.”
Seth Mandelbaum, managing partner of the law firm, said in a letter to White Plains Mayor Thomas Roach and members of the Common Council that the 162,995-square-foot building at 701 Westchester Ave. is 49.5% occupied.
During the work session, the council was told that the entire office park, containing 672,000 square feet in its five buildings, is 72% leased.
“Due to an aging design and inefficient layout, the 701 Building has never achieved full occupancy,” Mandelbaum wrote in the letter. “This issue has been exacerbated by the ongoing trend in local markets away from traditional office space, particularly in the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in an outdated building and underutilized property.”
Mandelbaum said that the proposed building would essentially take the same footprint as the office building.
“Because the new multifamily structure will be located in largely the same area as the 701 building, it is not anticipated that there will be a significant change to the views of neighbors. In fact, it is anticipated that the development of a new attractive structure will be generally more visually appealing than an out-of-date office building,” Mandelbaum wrote.
The council was told the building will include 21 studio apartments, 177 one-bedroom units and 182 two-bedroom units. Amenities would include a fitness center for residents, a business center, library and lounge spaces.
During Monday night”™s meeting, Councilman John Martin said, “I hesitate to comment on referrals but the only comment I”™ll make at this time on this referral is that I appreciate this type of creative thinking and planning on some reuses of some of these office parks that are being underutilized by offices right now.”
Council President Nadine Hunt-Robinson pointed out that several issues were raised during the work session including meeting with members of the surrounding community early in the process. She said that they discussed including a dog park, making some of the impervious asphalt in the existing parking area more environmental friendly, including solar panels for generating electricity to be used in the building and promoting a live-work-play approach at the site to help reduce vehicular traffic and commuting.
