A river runs through it
Yonkers city officials, legislators and environmental agency partners were on hand last week for the groundbreaking of a $16.8 million-plus construction project downtown to unearth the Saw Mill River flowing below Larkin Plaza.
An additional $2 million in funding from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation was just secured for the project, said Ned Sullivan, president of partner Scenic Hudson.
“It”™s going to be a couple of years on construction in general, but in the meantime, it”™s construction jobs, which is a great thing,” said Ellen Lynch, president and CEO of the Yonkers Industrial Development Agency (IDA). “We”™re really doing three things at one time next year. This is starting, we”™ll be starting the residential tower (Greyston Foundation”™s work-force housing development) in January and we”™re building a (300-space) garage because we took parking here and we have to replace that.”
Yonkers-based Groundwork Hudson Valley received $889,183 in funding by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to complete a watershed plan for the Saw Mill River project.
About $75,000 was provided by the New York/New Jersey Harbor Estuary Funding to develop a habitat restoration plan, according to Groundwork”™s Ann-Marie Mitroff, director of river programs.
The site of the Hudson River tributary historically served as a fishing trap at the mouth of the Saw Mill River and was converted into a railroad station in 1848.
Yonkers Mayor Philip Amicone said that “industry had gathered around the Saw Mill River.”
“It drove mills, but at some point there were no limitations on what was thrown in the river.”
That was when the river became a “nuisance” to the city, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers covered the river and placed a parking lot on top, which became the modern-day Larkin Plaza.
A construction site now envelopes the 144-space lot that served the Department of Motor Vehicles and area institutions like the Yonkers Waterfront Library.
“The city has made arrangements for different private parking areas to be opened up to accommodate the parking,” Lynch said. “In the meantime, I think the property owners in the downtown are very excited to see this get going because it”™s going to be a public amenity for their buildings.”
Amicone noted initial funding for the daylighting project came from former Gov. George Pataki when Amicone served as deputy mayor 15 years ago.
“It is a great environmental project and it is a great economic development project,” Amicone said. “Do you see all of these buildings around the parking lot? When this is a park, it will be their fronts, not the backs of the buildings”¦ when the library was built, when we did the first phase of the Hudson River Park, when we did the pier over, investors came to the city and said, ”˜If you”™re willing to invest that way in your city, then we”™re willing to invest with you.”™”
The Larkin Plaza daylighting is phase one of a separate Saw Mill project at Chicken Island and Getty Square.
The city will use a portion of a $24 million Dormitory Authority grant to acquire 18 properties at the site of Struever Fidelco Cappelli L.L.C.”™s mixed-use development River Park Center.