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Many are excited that the location, which has become something of a blight in the community, will finally be developed after more than five years of planning and waiting. Others are concerned that bringing new blood to the community will have a negative impact on the schools and business district.
At their latest meeting, the village trustees, under the advisory of a sub-committee chaired by Deputy Mayor Robert Underhill, determined that Greenwich-based Fareri Associates was the best candidate to re-develop the site, following the plans laid out by the previous developer.
Although the village plans to target “empty-nesters” – current residents looking to downsize while remaining local – some residents are anxious that the development may put an undue stress on the schools and business district.
“Downtown is already a madhouse, and we have parking problems that are only going to be magnified by adding more people to the community,” Mary Jones, 49, said. “Our schools are already pretty crowded, and this will just make them even more bloated.”
According to Mayor Mary Marvin, the project is approximately 110,000-square-feet, and will create more than 50 one and two-bedroom condominiums. There will also be 300 parking spaces, replacing the current structure.
Bronxville Road resident Randy Frank said that he is glad to see the site finally developed, but added that he preferred the status quo.
“I’ve lived here a long time, and it’s a great place to live, so I’m not sure why they feel compelled to change things,” the 66-year-old said. “We’re a small, quaint village. We already have some traffic issues, so this is just going to make things worse, I’d guess.”
In addition to replacing the parking structure on the location, there will also be a positive environmental impact for the village. The site has previously been the home of a power station, gas station, and other industrial complexes, which have contaminated the area.
As part of the plan, 20,000-square-yards of contaminants will be removed from the property by the time construction is completed on the condominiums, a fact resident Bonnie Yang hopes isn’t discounted.
“One of the reasons it’s taken so long to get anything done there is because the whole thing is polluted,” she said. “Not only will we get new housing out of this, they’re also going to fix that problem.”
Contract negotiations with Fareri are expected to be finished next month, with ground being broken during the spring.
What are your thoughts about the Kensington Road development? Continue the conversation in the comments section.
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