Business expansion in this small ”“ 3 square miles ”“ municipality seems to come in waves by industry.
There was the boom of financial institutions ”“ there are now 14 banks. Then a wave of new restaurants. And now, car dealerships.
The retail component is a mix of national chains and small boutiques. Rounding out the community is Northern Westchester Hospital, which has about 1,000 employees.
“Everything you could need or want is right here,” said Bill Harden, president of the Mount Kisco Chamber of Commerce. “All in all business looks very good up here. I”™d say we have a nice, healthy business community.”
“We have more banks than we have churches and synagogues now,” said Mayor J. Michael Cindrich, adding that there are 11 houses of worship.
He said Charles Schwab, the investment brokers, opened a small office in the village and closed their large facility in White Plains.
“So both financially and because of its location they deemed it as an attractive place to dub a small financial district,” Cindrich said.
The mayor said banks wanted to be located in Mount Kisco and the evolution started; anchor banks and smaller banks.
“If you want to buy a car, we”™ll have them all and if we don”™t, my bet is we will soon,” Harden said.
In addition to dealerships such as Smith-Cairns, Toyota and Honda, there are two new dealerships: BMW, which has been open for about a month, and just down the hill Lexus of Greenwich, which has recently expanded into the village and is expected to open this summer.
The four-story BMW building on Kisco Avenue is 12,000 square feet per floor and includes a showroom, used car floor and new car floor. The Premier Collection corporate headquarters is on the top floor.
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Diamond Properties owns several office and retail buildings in town, including 531 N. Bedford Road, which will probably turn into a Jaguar/ Land Rover dealership.
While they”™re shopping for cars, Harden hopes people will patronize the village”™s shops and restaurants.
Harden said many of the new restaurants are second locations for successful ventures that are already elsewhere in Westchester County.
“These experienced business people are a real asset to the town,” Harden said.
Via Vanti, a new restaurant/ bar at the train station, has lighting imported from Italy. Harden”™s company, Accel Printing, is working on Italian-design posters for the walls.
The farm-to-table Flying Pig restaurant was so successful it moved into a bigger space on Lexington Avenue.
Also opening is Q, a barbecue restaurant, which already has a location in Port Chester
“The surrounding villages don”™t have the retail we do,” said Janet Deane, executive director of the Mount Kisco Chamber of Commerce. “It”™s here, White Plains or Danbury.”
The village has its own “mini miracle mile” of retail with the Gap, Victoria”™s Secret and Borders, along with many smaller boutiques.
And, with the rising gas prices, “I think everyone is going to be shopping closer to home,” Harden said.
A Tiger Schulman studio opened, an Irish pub is going in at 222 Kisco Plaza, a new retail building was just completed at 134 Main St. and there is an ongoing rehab of a building opposite TJ Maxx on Route 117.
“We”™ve really grown here in Mount Kisco,” said Jim Diamond, CEO of Diamond Properties, owns several commercial properties in the village. “As we learned more about the community, we came to see that Mount Kisco is really the hub of Northern Westchester.”
Diamond was named citizen of the year and Diamond Properties was named business of the year by the chamber.
“Jim”™s a super guy,” Harden said. “In a relatively short period of time he”™s become a major player in the real estate world here.”
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Last month, the company acquired a shopping center in neighboring Bedford Hills and construction drawings are underway.
“We tend to acquire properties that are in need of upgrading,” Diamond said.
Diamond owns the former Grand Union Distribution Center, an eyesore that was vacant for 10 years. Now, Diamond Properties corporate headquarters is there on North Bedford Road as well as Grand Prix New York. He also constructed a soccer field on the property and donated it to the town.
“From a business perspective, there are a number of strong drivers of economic activity here,” Diamond said.
Diamond, lick Harden, noted the prominence of Northern Westchester Hospital in attracting medical offices.
“We are what I consider a medical base community,” Cindrich said. “The medical industry employs a lot of people who will patronize restaurants and shops in the village.”
The planning board is with working with the hospital on its new emergency department and a parking structure.
It will be the first parking structure in the village.
“It”™s extremely important to the village of Mount Kisco and the hospital that we get going on the expansion of the ER and emergency department,” the mayor said.
One of the challenges the village faces is overcoming the liability of being 100 percent within watershed property.
“We don”™t want to have a detrimental effect to the environment, but we still want things developed properly to encourage business in town,” Cindrich said.
One example is a 130-bed assisted living facility for seniors that is proposed for a piece of property owned by the village. If the project is approved, the village will dedicate 30 acres as green space.
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