A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Sept. 29 to open a 17-story building in Mount Vernon that combines affordability with luxury features.
The building is known as 22 South West and was developed by MacQuesten Development LLC. The $95 million project has 189 affordable housing units, 149 underground parking spaces, is adjacent to Metro-North”™s Mount Vernon West train station and offers many apartments with views of Manhattan and the Hudson River.
The building has 4,200 square feet of ground level retail or office space, a rooftop event area, an indoor recreation room, a clubhouse with fireplace, a gym, laundry facility, space for packages and shipping and an attended lobby.
Ground had been broken for the project in June 2018. The site at 22 South West St. formerly was home to an auto mechanic shop, gasoline station and parking lot.
In 2015, the project had been accepted into the New York State Brownfield Clean Up program. Cleanup included removal of asbestos and contaminated soil as part of the demolition of the original buildings.
“This project blurs the lines between luxury and affordability. I am proud to be leading transit-oriented development and transformational projects that will continue our company”™s long tradition of investing in Mount Vernon,” said Rella Fogliano, MacQuesten Development”™s CEO.
MacQuesten previously built The Modern, an 11-story, 81-unit apartment building one block away on Mount Vernon Avenue. It was designed as workforce housing for people who make less than the area”™s median income.
Travel time on Metro-North between the Mount Vernon West station and Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan typically is 22 minutes.
Westchester County Executive George Latimer said, “Having grown up in the great city of Mount Vernon, I know the importance of bringing together the community to achieve a project of this nature. This project really has it all: affordable housing that is environmentally friendly and centrally located. This is the model for how Westchester should be growing and investing in its future.”
Mount Vernon”™s Mayor Shawn Patterson-Howard said, “I am so proud of our city that we can shepherd a project of this nature into existence and truly begin the renaissance that Mount Vernon deserves. Bringing new jobs, new residents, and transit-oriented development to our city is going to improve the quality of life for every Mount Vernon resident.”
Thirty-two of the units will be rented to individuals and families who earn 50% of the average median income (AMI) in Westchester, while 99 units will be available to those earning 60%, 27 units to individuals and families earning 80% and 30 units to those earning 110% of AMI. There also is a nonrevenue unit for the building”™s superintendent.
New York”™s Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul was among those who attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
