Pending an approval by the village of Ossining, EPN Real Estate Services Inc. and Plateau Associates L.L.C. hope to begin work on one of the newest Hudson River projects, Hidden Cove on the Hudson.
The project, which is under an environmental review by the Ossining planning board and a concurrent review by the village board, features 132 living units and a museum near a nature preserve by the riverfront, the Business Journal has learned.
“It is totally hidden,” said Peter Stolatis, EPN president. “Unless you know it”™s there, you won”™t find it.” EPN would develop the project with Plateau Associates, which owns the 8¼-acre site on which the project would be located.
“It ”˜s a very unique project with a multiple number of types of residences, from townhouses to lofts to penthouse suites,” Stolatis said. “It”™s all upscale and all luxury.”
Most of the units in the complex would be duplex, he said.
Also planned for the site is a museum at the former Brandreth Pill Factory that would be devoted to Ossining”™s industrial past.
Â
Great idea
Village Mayor William Hanauer declined to comment specifically on the project since it is under review by the village board, but did say he thought “adaptive reuse of the pill factory is a great idea.”
Village Planner Valerie Monastra said the project is still “in the beginning stages” of the approval process. “They still need village board approval, zoning board approval and planning board approval,” she said.
Stolatis said he hopes the project will receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. The U.S. Green Buildings Council issues LEED designations based on such factors as sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.
Â
Stolatis said using geothermal and solar energy are some options the developers are looking at to make the building LEED-certified. “Anything that”™s developed today should be done that way,” he said. “Resources are limited in the world, and quality developments should be leading the way. We really want to make it a special project.”
Stolatis said the area around the complex features hiking trails accessible to the public as part of Ossining”™s portion of Westchester County”™s partially-developed Riverwalk trail.
The development would also be within walking distance of Ossining”™s Metro-North train station. “It affords the luxury of seclusion and convenience of location,” he said.
Â
Good mix
The units have not yet been priced, but Hidden Cove should attract both professionals and recent retirees. “We”™re hoping to grab young professionals out of the City and empty nesters out of the surrounding areas,” he said. “We”™ve been surprised at how many empty nesters are interested in this type of project. It”™s a good thing to have a mixture of young and old.”
In general, Stolatis is a proponent “smart growth” on the Hudson riverfront. “We have a lot of waterfront to redevelop intelligently,” he said.
If approved by the village, Hidden Cove on the Hudson would be the latest residential project to appear in Ossining. At the foot of Main Street, Martin Ginsburg is teaming up with another Valhalla-based builder, Louis R. Cappelli, to develop the $78 million, 150-unit Harbor Square condominium building. The developers were forced to halt construction after they discovered more oil on the property than they anticipated when they broke ground last year.
Stolatis himself also proposed several years ago creating an arts and culture center in Ossining, which never materialized.
Â
