The city of New Rochelle has formally asked a court to condemn a commercial property that officials have been trying to acquire for two years for a public works facility.
The city petitioned Westchester Supreme Court last month for authorization to use eminent domain to seize 54 Nardozzi Place, owned by PSDR Realty Corp. and operated as Auto Sunroof of Larchmont Inc.
The petition did not disclose a price.
PSDR principal and Auto Sunroof CEO Paul Spadaccini declined to discuss the action, but he has previously questioned whether the city is willing to pay what the property is worth.
Auto Sunroof is a car customization shop that has operated on Nardozzi Place since 1985. Spadaccini said two years ago that he had put the property on the market and wanted to move to another location. But when he proposed a $6 million offer, he said, a city official balked.
Since then, he said he has received a $6.4 million offer from a self-storage developer.
The eminent domain law allows governments to take private property for a public purpose and sets a procedure for setting a fair price.
The site is alongside Interstate 95 and across the street from Home Depot and Costco. More importantly, it is near 70 Nardozzi Place, where a developer is building a $48 million facility that will include 130,000 square feet for a city public works facility.
For more than 10 years, the city has been looking for a new location for its City Yard. The current location at 224 Main St. is contaminated and outmoded and has been set aside for the $300 million Pratt Landing mixed-use development.
The ground level at 70 Nardozzi Place will be used for public works offices and a garage. The second floor will be leased as commercial space to a health club and self-storage facility.
But public works needs even more space, according to findings published in 2017. The city wants to use 54 Nardozzi Place, Spadaccini has said, for more offices and a fueling station.
Simone Development Cos. of the Bronx and G&S Investors of Port Chester are developing 70 Nardozzi Place.
New Rochelle Corporation for Local Development has issued a $24 million, 32-year tax-exempt bond issue to pay for building and equipping the public works portion of the project.
The city will lease the building from the developers for at least 45 years, with options to extend the lease for up to 20 years. The Corporation for Local Development will pay ground rent of $260,000 a year, increasing by 1.65 percent a year.
New Rochelle Industrial Development Agency has granted the developers property tax, sales tax and mortgage tax relief for the commercial part of the project.
Why is New Rochelle financing the construction of the new city yard building if it won’t own it? This will go down as one of the dumbest moves ever on the part of New Rochelle. Who doesn’t own their own public works facility? New Rochelle has screwed itself once again.