The New Rochelle Industrial Development Agency has granted preliminary approval for $54 million in tax exemptions for five proposed apartment buildings.
The proposed projects would add nearly 1 million square feet of residential and retail space, provide 839 downtown apartments and cost about $369 million to build.
All but one of the structures would be grouped around Huguenot Street and Centre Avenue.
Allstate Ventures LLC wants to build three of them: two 14-story towers on Centre Avenue and Huguenot Street and a 7-story building at Westchester Place. The projects would cost about $163 million.
The Orange County developer would demolish three small buildings, create 406 dwellings and 11,150-square-feet of retail space and provide 343 garage parking spaces, according to applications submitted last month to the New Rochelle Industrial Development Agency.
The Westchester Place project was presented as artist quarters that would be leased at below-market-rate rents. The street would be converted to a passageway connecting the three buildings, emphasizing pedestrian and public uses over vehicle traffic.
Allstate Ventures expects to hire from 150 to 350 construction workers per building, as work is phased in over two years. Twenty-four full-time and five part-time jobs would be created when the buildings open from 2021 to 2023.
Allstate Ventures is asking the IDA for $13.9 million in sales tax exemptions, $1.3 million in mortgage recording tax exemptions and $23.6 million in property tax abatement, for a total tax benefit of $38.8 million.
Huguenot Partners LLC presented plans to the IDA for North Tower, a $100 million to $135 million, 28-story structure with 249 apartments and 3,000 square feet of commercial space, at 327 Huguenot St.
Huguenot Partners is affiliated with DHA Capital LLC of Manhattan, which got final IDA approval in June for a similar 28-story South Tower, across the street. The towers would be connected by a pedestrian bridge over Centre Avenue.
The North Tower would be built on a city parking lot, and a 241-vehicle garage would include 26 municipal spaces.
The developer expects to hire 300 construction workers and create 15 full-time and 2 part-time jobs when the project is finished around 2024.
The developer is asking for a $3.6 million sales tax exemption on building materials, fixtures and equipment and a mortgage tax exemption of $2.1 million. It also wants property tax abatement for 20 years, but did not submit a schedule of payments. The South Tower property tax abatement, approved in June, is for $9.8 million.
Huguenot Partners hopes to start construction on the North Tower in two years.
Wilder Balter Partners and L&M Development Partners presented plans for a $70.6 million, 7-story, 184-unit apartment building at 25 Maple Ave.
The site is a 115-vehicle parking lot. A proposed 321-vehicle parking garage would include 200 spaces for the city.
The developers expect to hire 368 construction workers and create one part-time and six fulltime jobs.
The developers are asking for $2.3 million in sales tax exemptions, a $500,200 mortgage tax exemption, and property tax abatement of $12.9 million over 20 years, for a total tax benefit of $15.7 million.
Construction could begin this fall and be completed in two years.
The IDA board granted preliminary approval to all five projects on July 31. Public hearings will be held Sept. 25, and then the board could consider final proposed tax exemptions.
New Rochelle taxpayers are getting completely ripped off with this. All these new residents will want and/or need city services but there wont be any tax money to pay for them unless Mayor Noam Bramson has the homeowner foot the bill.
And certainly there’s no space for new parks and what schools will the kids go to? New schools will have to be built and others expanded but with these massive tax abatements the schools will be starved for money.
Seems New Rochelle homeowner’s better get braced for some big tax increases coming to cover all these abatements. Great job Noam, NOT.
Agree don’t have a problem with this if they pay taxes like to rest of us . We the tax payer can’t afford it .
We the people stupid enough to have bought homes here continue to finance all the new development folly..there really isn’t much of a choice..move to Yonkers you have to pay 1.8% NYC Income Tax..City Island or The Bronx anywhere?? 3.6% NYC Income Tax. All the idiots that keep voting for the Supermajority Party for 30 years, but complain about all this?? You have only yourself to blame. You can live 10 to a 1-2 bedroom apartment..or move elsewhere..you can have it as soon as we can we are the hell out of here.
Shopping anyone….where are all these new tenants shop……i’ll tell you where….in Manhattan where they work.They won’t spend their money here.
With all the construction of new apartments currently underway, why would we need more people who will require schools and infrastructure without taxes to support them?