CAC Realty Group broke ground on June 5 in New Rochelle for The Huguenot, a 6-story apartment building that will include an art gallery and retail space.
The construction site at 387 Huguenot St. is near the intersection with Main Street and within walking distance of the Metro-North Railroad station. One of the factors that distinguishes this building from most other projects underway in the city is that it will utilize modular construction.
Designed by Brooklyn-based Doban Architecture, the building will contain 60 units in a mix of 57 studio and one-bedroom apartments and three two-bedroom units. It will have  two ground-floor retail spaces totaling about 2,400 square feet, about half of which will be used by the city for an art gallery.
There will be a lower level garage using a mechanical carousel parking system. Keystone Structural Group of Scranton, Pennsylvania, structural engineer for the project, said the building”™s footings are on bedrock and the steel-framed parking structure goes up from there. The parking structure”™s framing supports wood framing for the modular units. Keystone said the construction cost is $10 million. The total project cost is estimated at $23 million.
“This groundbreaking of The Huguenot marks yet another significant step forward in our efforts to build an economically and culturally vibrant downtown,” New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson said. “The Huguenot”™s automated parking and community art gallery are particularly exciting elements that highlight New Rochelle”™s commitment to technology and creative expression.”
Frank Chechile, president of developer CAC Realty Group based in Rye, said, “We”™re very excited about this project. Our family has been involved in the New Rochelle business community for years.”
Susan Doban of Doban Architecture described the building as part of the gateway to the city”™s downtown.
“The Huguenot extends the vibrancy and growth envisioned in the overlay zoning district from the center of the downtown towards the intersection of Huguenot and Main,” she said. The building is designed to appeal to millennials and empty nesters.
Doban has been active in New Rochelle development with more than 20 projects in the city. Her firm designed Locust Hall, a modular building at 26 Locust St. for Monroe College containing 96 units of student housing. It opened last September. The firm has done other projects for Monroe, including the mixed-use building Gaddy Hall, Allison Hall and adaptive reuse projects such as the Culinary Arts Center, Milavec Hall and the Academic Center.
Amenities at The Huguenot will include a dog-washing facility, dog run on the roof, fitness center and common spaces for social gatherings.
