NEW ROCHELLE, NY — After years of neglect, a small but important public space in the heart of downtown New Rochelle, is starting to get serious attention from developers and New Rochelle City officials.
City officials say the new Anderson Plaza will be breaking ground in a few weeks. The City is finalizing the work permit and notifying neighbors of the work.
Westfair recently described the plaza as a “mostly inaccessible island of overgrown trees and undergrowth, bordered by parking on one side and by a walkway, eight storefronts and a Key Bank branch on the other side.”
Plans are moving closer to reality to significantly improve Anderson Plaza, a public area located on Anderson Street, a one-way, one-block, connector street between North Avenue and LeCount Place.
The City hopes to revitalize the distressed public plaza as a retail corridor with bubble fountains, new seating and less dense landscaping. Through traffic on Anderson Street will be controlled by gates that can be closed so the entire plaza area including the roadway can be used an outdoor eve space for festivals, a farmers market and live performances.
The driveway through the plaza leading to the parking lot and driveway of the KeyBank branch located at 28 LeCount Place will be removed and a new driveway on the North side of the bank building added. About a dozen parking spaces on Anderson Street will be removed and replaced with planters. Bollards will separate the street from the plaza. Other planters will be scaled down and moved to create more open space.
Wilder Balter Partners and L+M Development have committed to the expansion of Anderson Plaza as part of their deal with the City of New Rochelle for WBLM 25 Maple Owner LLC to build a mixed-use residential project located at 25 Maple Avenue. WBLM is a joint venture of Wilder Balter Partners Inc. of Chappaqua and L+M Development Partners Inc. of Larchmont.
Designed by architects Beyer Blinder Belle, as part of a project to build a seven-story building at 25 Maple Avenue six blocks away, Anderson Plaza has been for years an unappealing gateway to New Roc City Mall.
According to Westfair, the New Rochelle Industrial Development Agency approved a $140,674 sales tax exemption for WBLM 25 Maple Owner LLC, April 30, bringing the developer’s total tax subsidies to $24.3 million. The IDA previously granted approval to the developer for property, sales, and mortgage tax exemptions for the $70.6 million, seven-story, 184-unit apartment building on a city parking lot at 25 Maple Avenue.
A subsidy was added to the developer’s proposed 25 Maple Avenue project based on the work at Anderson Plaza.
Anderson Plaza sits adjacent to another WBLM project, the recently completed 10 LeCount Place, a $190 million, 27-story, 380-apartment and ground floor retail complex. The IDA previously approved $38.8 million in tax subsidies for that project.
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