Stagg Group, which has developed approximately 4,000 affordable apartments in the New York Metro area, is proposing to build a 12-story affordable apartment building in Yonkers. The Yonkers Planning Board intends to be lead agency for the environmental review of the project and also must approve the site plan.
Founded in 1996 by White Plains native Mark Stagg, the Stagg Group”™s real estate portfolio is valued at more than $1.5 billion. Stagg typically acts as general contractor on its jobs, which have ranged from two-family houses to large apartment buildings.
Stagg, through 194 Yonkers Avenue LLC is proposing to develop a site in the Nodine Hill part of Yonkers composed of several lots at 188-194 Yonkers Ave. and 182-192 Fillmore St. Two existing homes on the site, one of which has been condemned, would be demolished. The proposed building would have 156 apartments and 215 parking spaces, There would be 69 studio apartments, 66 one-bedroom units and 21 two-bedroom units. All of the apartments would be priced in the affordable category and made available to people with incomes between 50% and 60% of the Area Median Income.
Stagg told Yonkers that it estimates the cost of the project at $20 million and that the development would create approximately 60 construction jobs.
The main entrance to the building would be on Fillmore Street, which is where access to the parking would be. Con Edison utilities along Fillmore Street would be relocated as part of the development, which is designed to take advantage of the grade differential between Fillmore Street and Yonkers Avenue. The developer is proposing to include new landscaping within the property lines, including planting beds and new trees and plans to offer amenities for residents such as a community room and laundry facilities.
While much of Stagg”™s development activity has taken place in the Bronx, it currently is getting close to topping off a 24-story affordable housing tower in New Rochelle with 186 apartments that is being built at 26 Garden St. In the fall of 2020, Stagg opened The Marquee, a 160-unit building at 697 Bronx River Road in Yonkers. Stagg also has a second building just down the street at 411 Bronx River Road.
“The market is oversaturated with out-of-touch rents,” Mark Stagg told the Business Journals. “We feel there”™s a huge demand for affordability and quite frankly a responsibility I feel that has to be met.”
Stagg said that the Nodine Hill site offers a good geographic location and opportunity to help meet the high demand that exists for affordable housing.
“Not only do we have the 186 units being built in New Rochelle, we felt there is a great demand in Yonkers as well and we look forward to the future, to building in other municipalities,” Stagg said. “I feel it”™s my civic responsibility to be a good neighbor and help. We as a company want to be part of the solution.”
Stagg said that the company operates with a philosophy that they”™re not just building housing units, they”™re building homes for people.
“I don”™t think there should be a difference in the finishes whether you make $50,000 a year or you make $150,000 a year,” Stagg said “I want the finished product to be something that everybody can be proud of.”
Stagg said that the company has evolved into a family operation and four of his children are currently with the Skagg Group.
“We have 1,500 units now in the pipeline and we think we can be successful by doing the right thing,” Stagg said.
Jay Martino, senior vice president of construction of the Stagg Group, told Yonkers planners that there would be three levels of parking below the level of Fillmore Street with more parking and the building”™s lobby at street level. He said the building would have brick facades along Fillmore Street and Yonkers Avenue. Martino said the apartments would have individual Packaged Terminal Air Conditioning (PTAC) heating and cooling units.
“There”™ll be a cold climate PTAC, which is provided by Islandaire, which is more efficient, gives us better heating down to five degrees in lieu of the old type PTAC that really became inefficient at 28 degrees and below,” Martino said. He pointed out that some rock removal would be required at the site but the plan is to chip it out and not do any blasting.
“We own our own equipment. We”™ve done extensive rock excavation,” Martino said. “Typically what we do with our hammers is wrap them with noise attenuating blankets to try to mitigate some of the noise as best we can. We also typically do a wet spray to control the dust. We”™ll also do a preconstruction survey of the adjacent homes as well as seismic and optical monitoring during the foundation stage. We want to get out as fast as the neighborhood would want us to get out.”
