White Plains Mall redevelopment to include apartments, retail. What to know.
WHITE PLAINS − Four multifamily buildings totaling 860 rental apartments, including 78 affordable units, will rise at the former White Plains Mall site.
The $650 million redevelopment two blocks from the Metro-North train station is also to include dining, retail and other commercial spaces, as well as underground parking. The location is bordered by Cottage Place, Hamilton Avenue, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Barker Avenue.
Planned amenities for apartment residents include 24-hour concierge, lounges, co-working spaces, a pool, game rooms, fitness studios, outdoor terraces, and shared public places, according to a statement.
"This is going to bring life, it's going to bring public space, dining and street life," Mayor Thomas Roach said at Thursday's groundbreaking by development team RXR and the Cappelli Organization for the first phase of the project referred to as Hamilton Green.
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While Mamaroneck Avenue has places to eat, things to do, and a sense of the public square, the area where the former White Plains Mall stands doesn't have that same feeling of life, Roach said, adding that officials have been working on how to change that, and this redevelopment is one step.
"Three blocks on Mamaroneck Avenue, you're looking at windows, you're looking at people, you're saying hello to people" who are out dining, he said. "So that’s what we want to bring and that’s what we're seeing here − we're very happy to have this project here.”
Officials gathered Thursday at the demolished site of the mall, another example of a local trend in which longtime commercial properties are giving way to live-work-play developments. In a bit of symbolism, an operator of a piece of construction equipment used its claw to partially pull down the old White Plains Mall sign after officials spoke about the redevelopment.
What will be built
Phase one, slated to be finished in 2025, includes construction of a 12-story structure containing 162 apartments at 7 Cottage St., and a 25-story, 308-apartment tower at 240 Hamilton. Also planned is a 515-space underground parking garage and nearly 55,000 square feet of retail space.
The second phase will add 390 residential units, 441 parking spaces and 45,000 square feet of retail.
What units may rent for wasn't available.
The redevelopment also entails providing 55,000 square feet of publicly accessible open space, "For this community to embrace and enjoy," said Joseph Graziose Jr., RXR senior vice president of residential development.
50-year history
White Plains Mall opened in 1972, and over the years had everything from stores to a Department of Motor Vehicles branch, according to personal recollections shared by officials who spoke at the groundbreaking.
"As we move forward in converting this functionally obsolete asset, the project will implement sustainable design features," Louis Capelli, founder of the Capelli Organization, said in a statement, including "smart-home technologies utilizing intelligent thermal controls, dynamic glass and high efficiency mechanical systems, further promoting health and wellness for the building and its tenants."
RXR closed on the land for the phase one development and the Cappelli Organization closed on the land for phase two on Nov. 30. The mall was demolished in August.
The redevelopment is designed by Lessard Design and MdeAS Architects
Michael P. McKinney covers growth and development in the Lower- and Mid-Hudson Valley.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: White Plains Mall redevelopment to include apartments, retail
