John Golden has a must-read article today in the Westchester County Business Journal, New takes on New Rochelle development
Golden talks with Mayor Noam Bramson, Development Commission Michael Freimuth, City Council Member Al Tarantino and Cappelli Enterprises spokesperson Joe Apicella.
The big news coming out of the article is that announced attention of Cappelli Enterprises to submit a scaled black for LeCount Square.
For New Rochelle’s most prominent downtown developer, the damage from assembled properties has been financial and legal since the economy tanked in the last three years. LeCount Square, the ambitious mixed-use redevelopment of approximately 1 million square feet proposed by developer Louis R. Cappelli and Cappelli Enterprises Inc., died quietly at the start of this year, when the City Council failed to grant another extension for the long-stalled project near Cappelli’s New Roc City and Trump Plaza developments…Apicella said Cappelli Enterprises soon will propose modified plans for the LeCount Square site to city officials.
“In this new economic environment, sometimes you have to hit singles or doubles; you can’t always hit home runs,” he said.
“We’re more than willing to hit a single or double that’s acceptable to the city and conforms with zoning regulations.”
Read the entire article here.
LeCount Square
I hope the council will ask others for their ideas should they decide to again attempt to re-develope the area.
2011 is Election Year in New Rochelle
Unless I misread the Council vote there were four votes against the LeCount Extension. So this could clearly become a campaign issue, especially for the overcrowded downtown and southern half of the city.
Residents will carefully watch the redistricing process.