Yonkers approves $35 million, 116-unit complex on Bronx River Road

After three years of collaborating with Yonkers agencies and community groups, a Purchase-based developer was given the green light to move forward on the construction of a $35 million apartment complex along Bronx River Road.

The Yonkers City Council approved a rezoning of 705 Bronx River Road from commercial to residential in March, a move that allows developer Stagg Group to advance its plans for a nine-story, 160-unit rental apartment complex on the property.

“It really feels like a tremendous relief,” said Mark Stagg, president of the company that has been developing housing units in Westchester and the Bronx for more than two decades.

The 170,000-square-foot complex will take up a city block on Bronx River Road, Crescent Place and Reyer and Springer avenues.

“We”™re really excited about what”™s going to be the end product there. We think everyone”™s going to be very pleased,” Stagg said. “Personally, I couldn”™t be more ecstatic.”

The rezoning of the “tiny commercial island surrounded by residences” made sense for the property, Stagg said, calling it a “missing tooth” on a map of the area.

“It”™s a residential corridor up and down the boulevard,” Stagg said. “It made sense from a planning perspective and we”™re glad we were able to work with the city.”

Stagg called the extensive planning process that included city officials, neighborhood associations and co-op boards “unprecedented work” that resulted in “a plan that made sense for the city and the residents alike.”

That process included drastically reducing the number of units included in the development plan. Stagg originally aimed to have 224 units, though that number was trimmed over the course of the planning process.

“We realized that 160 is the right number,” Stagg said. “This is what the neighborhood wants.”

In response to concerns regarding the complex”™s strain on the area”™s parking, Stagg said the development will have 282 parking spaces, 20 more than are required by the city

“There will be ample parking,” he said. “We feel good about that from a design perspective. We”™ll be able to handle all flows of traffic, including guests.”

Stagg Group will also address a number of residents”™ concerns regarding traffic backups near the site. The company will fund the construction of a new traffic pattern at the intersection of Bronx River Road, Midland Avenue and Broad Street.

“We realize this was a preexisting condition, however, we feel it”™s the right thing to do for the entire community,” Stagg said, adding that “being a good neighbor, we wanted to help in any way we could.”

Yonkers City Council President Liam J. McLaughlin said he believes the approved plan addresses the concerns raised by members of the community.

“Stagg has worked with the community in a truly meaningful way on those issues and what we have is a finished product that puts a valuable parcel on the tax roll and creates good construction jobs,” McLaughlin said in a statement.

While Stagg Group has the approvals to move forward with development plans for the property, the company “still has a little bit of work ahead of us,” Stagg said.

In order to begin construction, the company will first need to raze the property”™s existing structures, including an empty commercial building, a parking lot and five houses Stagg Group owns on Crescent Place. Stagg expects to begin demolition work later this spring, with the 18-month construction period likely to begin later this fall.

Stagg said he sees “tremendous opportunity” in the city of Yonkers.

“Yonkers is a city on the move,” he said. “The investment that”™s happening in Yonkers, I want to be a part of it.”

Stagg had originally considered the property at 705 Bronx River Road as the new headquarters for his development company when he bought the rundown site in 2013. “We liked its central location and the fact that the building could accommodate all of our employees under one roof,” he said.

However, an inspection of the abandoned building ended those plans. Stagg said that because the building had seen a number of “awkward additions” over the years, a renovation of the property was not economically feasible.

The company also controls property at 411 Bronx River Road, just a mile south of 705 Bronx River Road, which Yonkers previously approved for a 44-unit apartment complex. However, to prepare the site for development, the company removed more than 2,500 cubic yards of rock from the property.

“A lot of developers would want to look the other way because of that,” he said, “but we didn”™t.”

Because of the costs involved in removing the rock, Stagg said the firm went “back to the drawing board.” The development company plans to submit a new 115-unit application to the city in the coming weeks.

“We wanted to get past this one and then move on to the next,” he said.

Both of Stagg Group”™s properties in Yonkers are transit-oriented developments and are within close proximity to stops along Metro-North”™s Harlem Line. The 411 Bronx River Road site is just across the Bronx River Parkway from the Mount Vernon West station. The property at 705 Bronx River Road is less than a mile from both the Mount Vernon West and Fleetwood stations.

“A lot of commuters are going to want that spot,” he said.

Stagg Group is largely focused on development in the Bronx. The company recently began leasing apartments at a 129-unit complex at 1680 Pelham Parkway South and is building a 119-unit project at 3084 Webster Ave. In Westchester, Stagg Group developed Hudson Crossing at Market Square, a mixed-use residential and commercial building in downtown Ossining.

Stagg said his company employs a hands-on, feet-on-the-ground approach to each property it develops.

“We”™re working with the community to come up with the best solution for each individual site,” he said.