Ginsburg gets Ludlow approval, submits plan for new building

The Yonkers Planning Board has approved plans for Ginsburg Development Companies (GDC) to construct an apartment tower in the Ludlow section of the city at 150 Downing St. Immediately after the vote, GDC unveiled details of its plan for a second building in the Ludlow section, adjacent to the Metro-North tracks and about one-half block from the Ludlow train station at 70 Pier St.

The second building, with an estimated construction cost of $11.5 million, would be four stories with 36 apartments over a ground floor that would include retail space as well as the building’s lobby and amenities for residents. There would be indoor parking for 35 cars, one fewer space than zoning requires. A variance would be needed.

The 70 Pier St. site formerly was home to an office and garage used by the Yonkers Parking Authority that GDC purchased in June of 2017. Adjacent is a municipal parking lot with spaces for 14 vehicles. GDC proposes taking over the parking lot and incorporating its 14 spaces along with seven additional permit spaces and 16 new metered spaces into a new layout. Ginsburg also would undertake revitalization of the existing city park known as Abe Cohen Plaza.

The newly approved plans for 150 Downing St. call for a seven-story building over two levels of parking. It would have 131 one-bedroom units and 77 two-bedroom units for a total of 208 apartments. There would be 229 parking spaces provided. The cost of the building is estimated at $65 million. GDC estimated that the project will result in 625 construction jobs. When completed, there would be five full-time employees and four part-time employees at the property.

The roots of the project extend from 2016 when Yonkers issued a Request for Proposals to sell the property at 150 Downing St. in the Ludlow section of the city. GDC was the successful respondent and in 2017 the city approved selling the site that formerly had been used by the Department of Public Works to GDC for approximately $3 million.

Jim Surdoval of GDC said that the property for the 70 Pier St. proposal parallels the Metro-North tracks and a fence owned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) would remain in place as a safety measure. He said GDC would like to work with the MTA to enhance the appearance of the fence.

“This project is a bit of a companion to 150 Downing St.,” Surdoval said. “It is a 36-unit building, which is very small for GDC, but nonetheless a very important project because this is the train station gateway arrival area. The goal is to create … a very attractive arrival point with people coming to the new GDC building on Downing Street and the other development that will happen in the area. The current residents that live in the area will have a mixed-use building with neighborhood retail as well as a new upgraded Abe Cohen Plaza park.”

Leoncio Torres, vice president of architecture and design for GDC, said that there would be new paving, landscaping, sidewalks, benches, lighting, an entrance arch, a new flagpole, a sculpture and a new clock tower at Abe Cohen Plaza.

“We basically have a modest club room and business center as well as a fitness center for the residents of the property,” Torres said in describing the ground floor layout. “We’re also proposing to leave some retail space that would be accessible from the public street. The building is fully electric. We use a very highly efficient heat pump system which provides cooling and heating and then we’re looking to see if we can install solar panels on this project as well.”

Torres said that there would be a second-floor outdoor amenity space for tenants and noted that the apartments would have large windows and balconies. He said that the lower front facade of the building would use metal panels.

Surdoval said that GDC has agreed to enter into a maintenance agreement with the city regarding the Abe Cohen Plaza. He said that GDC would be open to either the city or GDC doing the actual maintenance work, whichever the parks department prefers.

“We just need to sit down and talk to the parks department and work it out,” Surdoval said. “Whether we do it or they do it we’re willing to fund it.”

Both of the GDC buildings are in the area covered by the city’s Ludlow Street Transit Oriented Development Plan, which is designed to guide reviving the area. The plan’s area is approximately 35 acres and almost entirely within ¼-mile of the Metro-North train station.