White Plains, NY – Members of the Westchester County Board of Legislators (BOL) were gladdened by the announcement yesterday that County Executive Robert P. Astorino was finally ready to reach out to private developers to create a new bio-technological business park adjacent to the Westchester Medical Center in the Grasslands section of Mount Pleasant as proposed in Legislation.
But what took so long? After all, the BOL started public discussions regarding this property in May 2011. At the Astorino Administration’s request, an Act was returned to Committee in September 2011 to authorize the Administration to enter discussions regarding a long-term lease agreement on 60 acres of County owned property for the development.
“The Board of Legislators realized nearly a year ago that this parcel of property would play a crucial role in bringing together important needs such as job creation, economic development and support for bio-medical research, which is why our legislation moved forward with bi-partisan support,” said BOL Chairman Ken Jenkins (D-Yonkers).
According to the Administration, the county will now be issuing a request for qualifications (RFQ) to developers who are interested in the property. Known as the North 60, the property sits on undeveloped land on the northern portion of the 512-acre Grasslands Reservation.
“Of course, we’re pleased that the County Executive is finally making some movement with developing the Grasslands property after such a long wait,” said Legislator Alfreda Williams (D-Greenburgh). “This stands as the kind of positive collaboration between two branches of County government that can really benefit the residents of Westchester for many years to come, and I hope the County Executive’s commitment to seeing this project to fruition is genuine.”
Strangely, County Executive made no mention in his announcement of an ambitious proposal presented to the BOL last May by developer John Fareri, who is well known for spearheading the creation of the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at the Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, NY.
Fareri’s plan included six new green buildings (totaling two million square feet) dedicated to bio-tech research spread across a campus, with a hotel, restaurants, shops and a centerpiece Children’s Living Science Center that will stress safe lifestyle choices. Almost all of the funding for the project will be privately raised.
In his presentation to the BOL committee members, Fareri estimated that the project would create 3500 construction jobs and, when completed, 2500 permanent full-time jobs. Fareri’s proposed project, encompassing the County’s 60 acres plus an additional 20 acres already owned by Fareri, would also generate an estimated $6 million in property tax revenue for the Town of Mount Pleasant and Westchester County. The BOL decided after that presentation the only appropriate course of action was to issue an RFQ that would ensure that the BOL received regular reports with the legislator(s) representing the area being involved in the reviews.
“The scope of collaboration necessary to make the development at Grasslands a real success has to be encouraged by the Administration,” said Legislator Judy Myers (D-Larchmont), chair of the BOL’s Budget & Appropriations Committee. “Taxpayers have to know upfront what kind of deals will be made to bring developers into the picture, and I urge the County Executive to move forward on this project with the transparency that was included in the Legislation considered by the BOL.”