Once a nursery, it seems, always a nursery ”“ at least for now.
The 3.69 acres at 625 Dobbs Ferry Road in Greenburgh, home to Carlson’s Greenhouse and Nursery since 1948, apparently would not be redeveloped but would remain a nursery and farm stand operation if purchased by the owners of Cortlandt Farms and Nursery.
Architect Heike Schneider of H S Architecture in Yorktown Heights said she was representing Jack and Larry Ahearn, twin brothers who purchased Cortlandt Farms and Nursery on Route 202 in Cortlandt Manor last year.
“They really managed to turn this space into a very thriving and well-frequented place that everybody talks about. Especially during Covid time, I think it was a place where everybody felt comfortable because it is very open,” Schneider told the Greenburgh Town Board at its Sept. 22 work session.
She said that if the Ahearns were to purchase Carlson’s property in Greenburgh, the idea would be to “keep it more or less as it is but to connect a 4,000- to 5,000-foot market space to the right of the existing building and connect those two with a covered walkway.”
Schneider said that they would plan to sell seasonal products such as pumpkins and Christmas trees in addition to locally-grown produce, adding that the basic layout of the property would remain the same as it currently is.
Jack Ahearn said, “Everything that we go into we try to put 100% into it. We don’t do anything unless we could do it right. Before we start anything we make sure that we have the money that we would need to do the proper job.”
He said that their plan for the property would be better for the neighborhood than having the property become the location of a big box store.
“If you guys give us a shot, I’m pretty sure we’ll put together a store that everybody will love. You guys are welcome to come up to the facility we have in Cortlandt. Everybody that comes there loves the place. Haven’t heard one complaint out of anyone. We try to give people fair prices and good quality and would like to continue to do that here,” Ahearn said.
He noted that Cortlandt Farms has about 20,000 square feet devoted to growing and about 4,500 or 5,000 square feet devoted to store space, with an additional 20,000 square feet are devoted to nursery space.
“As far as the layout that is in the Carlson facility, we would like to keep it basically just the way it is,” Ahearn said. “As far as the greenhouses, we would continue to do the same operation that they’ve done.”
He said that they would not introduce stone crushing or other noise-generating mechanical operations such as are present at some other nursery operations in Westchester.
Town of Greenburgh Planning Commissioner Garrett Duquesne said that nurseries in the town are existing nonconforming uses in single-family residential neighborhoods. He explained that Carlson’s and others have been in existence for decades and are grandfathered-in as nonconforming uses.
“As far as diversifying this particular use to add a retail component and a building, there would be a couple of zoning questions that would have to be answered and the primary question would be some sort of zoning enabling mechanism to allow the accessory sale of food and related accessory retail,” Duquesne said.
He added that it could be done via a special permit process. He also said that site plan approval would be necessary with special attention paid to traffic flow into and out of the property.
“I’m thrilled that the property will remain a nursery,” Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner said of the proposal. “In recent years we heard from car dealerships, warehouses. It’s great that the character of the community will be maintained with a great use, a nursery. It’s also nice that during the pandemic, when so many businesses are closing down, that this property will continue to serve the community as a nursery. Great news for our town.”
