The town of Greenburgh has initiated plans to move forward with a request for proposals (RFP) and open bidding on the sale of the former Frank”™s Nursery, a vacant 7-acre property at 715 Dobbs Ferry Road.
The town acquired the land in a 2011 tax foreclosure and received an offer from Game On 365 L.L.C., which proposed to buy it for $1.7 million with the promise of paying another $1.3 million over 13 years. Town officials announced they”™d agreed to the deal at a press conference last month.
But critics questioned the agreement, claiming that its phrasing didn”™t properly ensure payment of the $1.3 million. They also questioned why the town had not accepted an offer from Ardsley-based House of Sports, which had jumped in with a $3.5 million cash offer to take the property “as is.”
Earlier this month, the town changed course and offered the property to House of Sports.
Both companies wanted to transform the dilapidated parcel into a sports facility. Each threatened to sue the town if its rival bought the land. At a June 18 work session, town officials decided to start the process again and issue a standard RFP.
House of Sports CEO Donald Scherer said his company”™s development project, which he said could be 50,000 to 70,000 square feet of space, could cost from $10 million to $15 million. Before any development, he said he would need to discuss with the town ways to clean up the property.
“We would have to address the environmental contamination because the property is filled with carcinogens from chemical factories in White Plains,” Scherer said. “We need to do some remediation, so it”™s a safe environment for kids. That could mean pumping out the groundwater. We”™ll see how the town and DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) want us to handle that.”
The town board is expected to authorize the RFP this month. Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner said he expected that the starting bid would be $3.5 million, matching Scherer”™s previous high offer .
Game On project manager Martin Hewitt said an open bidding process is the fairest option. “It”™s the cleanest way that the town can avoid a lawsuit. We told the board we”™re supportive of the RFP,” he said.
The town board is setting the parameters for acceptable uses of the property by potential buyers. The town is in the process of drafting a municipal Comprehensive Plan, a guiding map for local zoning and development. Feiner said town officials will make sure the RFP is consistent with the plan, which he expects will be released in the fall.
“We haven”™t finalized the RFP document yet,” Feiner said. “We don”™t want to make this a commercial strip.”
“My gut feeling is we probably would sell the property by sometime next year,” Feiner said. “One of the complaints the last time we did an RFP is that we didn”™t give people enough time to bid. This time, we”™ll put up signs on the property early, reach out to people and give the community an opportunity to participate in the review process before we finalize any plans.”
