Long-stalled plans to convert the former psychiatric center in the hamlet of Wingdale into a major new town center are gathering steam.
The Dover Town Board is now reviewing one of the last environmental hurdles before work can begin. Other state agencies will then comment.
The Knolls of Dover is a planned mixed-use development in the town of Dover that last week began its latest phase of environmental review, leading to hopes work could start on the project in the spring. The task is to convert a decaying state facility into a vibrant railroad-centered hamlet.
The facility dominates Wingdale to the exclusion of nearly everything but train commutation ”“ it”™s a Metro-North stop ”“ and golf. (The plans are for the course to remain.)
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The Benjamin Companies of Long Island has proposed a 931-acre, transit-oriented development on both sides of state Route 22 around the Metro-North rail station in Wingdale. The development includes the 848-acre site of the Harlem Valley Psychiatric Hospital purchased from the state for $3.95 million in October 2003. The proposal envisions 1,376 housing units, approximately 240,000-square-feet of commercial space and 100,000-square-feet of community or recreation space.
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Town officials have been discussing the project over the course of seven years. Dec. 9 they took a major step toward finality by beginning review of the preliminary final environmental impact statement (FEIS.)
Supervisor Ryan Courtien said the board’s review should be complete in two or three meetings before being sent out to involved agencies for comment. Once those are received, the board must approve the statement and then shovels can break the ground.
“We expect this site will be a growth center for Dover for quite a while,” said Kathy Schibanoff, local liaison for Benjamin Company. The site is situated around the train station for the Harlem Valley line of Metro-North, a 90-minute to two-hour train ride from Grand Central. The site also has ample water and sewer service, so the plan is to build around the infrastructure to create a walkable community.
“It will happen over a long period of time,” said Schibanoff. “We”™re thinking anywhere from seven to 10 years.” She cited the original economic study that posited sales of 75-100 units a year. She said with roughly 1,300 units planned, plus commercial and recreational endeavors, Benjamin Company is in it for the long haul.
The biggest built-in benefit is the train, featuring the one-seat ride to and from Manhattan unavailable on the west side of the Hudson.
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“The train station connects us to some really good things,” Schibanoff said. “We”™re looking at both providing housing and getting people up here to recreate.”
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She said the plans call for a mixture of housing options from single-family homes to townhouses in the center of the hamlet.
“We aim for a diversity of housing. For so long the only option built around here was McMansions, there was really nothing for young people or seniors,” Schibanoff said. “The Knolls of Dover really will create not only a new town center but a real mixture of housing sizes and prices that just don”™t exist right now.”
The Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center closed in 1994 and has sat vacant since. On the to-do list when the environmental green-light appears: The developers will begin to remove decrepit buildings on the campus using a $2.5 million grant from the Restore New York fund.
“We have tried to save some of the buildings that are more distinctive, the ones that you see along the Route 22 corridor,” said Schibanoff. “They can be used for a bit of everything,” including housing, retail, recreational facilities and office space, she said.
