'Live, work, play' developments spreading in region
Akiko Matsuda- Projects aim to create a "live, work, play" environment where people can shop and dine without driving.
A mother pushing a baby carriage stepped out of a brand-new apartment complex one recent morning and continued onto a sidewalk, passing by a movie theater. A young boy in a red cap tagged along with her, holding onto the carriage. Across the street, a woman with a purple yoga mat walked toward a nearby gym at a brisk pace.
In recent months, hundreds of people have moved into the new Danforth Apartments complex developed in Rivertowns Square, a mixed-use project built on a 17-acre site off Saw Mill River Parkway in Dobbs Ferry. New residents are breathing life into the downtown-like community that replaced a dilapidated office-and-laboratory complex.
"It's so convenient to have everything right next door," said Thomas Re, one of the first tenants in the Danforth Apartments who moved into a spacious one-bedroom apartment with his wife, Nicole Addonizio-Re, in May 2017.
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A mixed-use development combines commercial and residential uses in close proximity, aiming to create a "live, work, play" environment where people can shop and dine without driving.
This style of development has been spreading nationwide and developers in the Hudson Valley region are getting in on the trend.
One of the earliest examples in the region was the Ridge Hill development built on an 81-acre site between the Thruway and the Sprain Brook Parkway in Yonkers. It includes stores, restaurants, and parks spread along exterior streets.
The residential portion has yet to be fully developed as planned due to lawsuits among investors and financial troubles, but the commercial portion attracted major retailers such as Lord & Taylor, Apple, The Container Store, Whole Foods and Lowe's.
The Chappaqua Crossing development, under construction on the 114 acre former Reader's Digest headquarters site, is another. The iconic cupola building in the campus was recently reborn as an apartment building, featuring 64 affordable, workforce and market-rate units. Whole Foods Market and the Life Time athletic center are set to open this fall, and Georgian-style luxury townhomes, flexible office spaces, restaurants and shops are slated to join the mix in the future.
Life in Rivertowns Square
The Danforth Apartments offer 202 luxury rental units along with amenities such as a gym, swimming pool, cafe and entertainment lounge, and indoor parking garage.
The commercial portion of Rivertowns Square features a 138-room Hilton Garden Inn, an iPic movie theater, multiple restaurants, daycare and urgent-care centers, Brooklyn Market, and an Ulta Beauty store.
"It's like a little, tiny town," Re said. "There hasn't been a huge need to go deep into Dobbs Ferry village because we have all these places right next door.”
Every morning, Re, 31, who works in finance, drives to the Dobbs Ferry Metro-North station and hops a train for the 38-minute ride to Grand Central Terminal, which is only a couple of blocks away from his office.
Addonizio-Re, 28, was also taking a train into Manhattan until recently when she switched her job from Manhattan to Mount Kisco. She now has a 20-minute drive to Northern Westchester Hospital where she works as a psychiatric nurse practitioner.
At home, the couple have patronized Chop't and Chipotle in the commercial complex and buy their groceries at Brooklyn Market. Their recent favorite is Lombardo's Pizzeria & Restaurant, which opened about a month ago across the street from the movie theater.
Mixed-use challenges
Developers of a mixed-use development like these face unique challenges of recruiting tenants from different industries to create an attractive mix.
In Rivertowns Square, for example, the developer, Saber Dobbs Ferry LLC, had to find new companies for a hotel and a movie theater when their initial deals fell through because the project's approval process stretched over several years. The original deal for a grocery store with Mrs. Green’s Natural Food Market was also terminated when the grocer's operator Natural Markets Food Group faced financial challenges.
Along with the right mix of tenants, walkability is also critical for the community's success, said Marty Berger, a managing principal of Saber Real Estate Advisors in Armonk who spearheaded the Rivertowns Square development.
"There has to be connectivity between the uses," Berger said. "There has to be synergy amongst uses."
Even when developers successfully create a walkable mixed-use community, the result would be a "far cry from a true downtown," said Rob Lane, senior fellow for urban design with Regional Plan Association, an urban research and advocacy organization.
"Downtown grows up over decades and decades in a very unconscious way," Lane said. "That’s not really going to be duplicated no matter how good the intentions are of the developer."
And they are not always embraced by the neighbors.
Dobbs Ferry residents fought against Rivertowns Square, arguing that the development would further disrupt traffic in the already-congested neighborhood.
Chappaqua Crossing was also opposed by some neighbors, who feared that the project could lead to traffic congestion and overcrowd the Chappaqua school district.
More to come
Whether they become true communities or not, mixed-use developments face the same challenge that real Main Streets are grappling with — the rapidly changing retail environment because of e-commerce.
In Rivertowns Square, at least six storefronts — their sizes ranging from 800 square feet to 3,000 square feet — remain vacant, according to the website of Regency Centers Co., a Florida real estate investment firm that recently acquired the retail section of the complex for $69 million from Saber Dobbs Ferry.
Still, developers are bullish about the mixed-use prospect, and plans for multiple major projects are underway.
In New Rochelle, plans to redevelop the Echo Bay waterfront district with shops, apartments, restaurants and parks are being developed by Twining Properties, a New York City developer.
The ongoing Edge-on-Hudson development is set to transform the former General Motors assembly plant site in Sleepy Hollow, featuring 1,177 residential units, restaurants, retail space, and a hotel.
Farther north, a mixed-use development for the 156-acre site that formerly housed the Hudson River Psychiatric Center has been ongoing in the town of Poughkeepsie, calling for 750 residential units as well as 350,000 square feet of retail space and 80,000 square feet of hotel space.
Next step
Re and Addonizio-Re both grew up in Westchester and lived in New York City for five years before moving to the Rivertowns Square.
Their life in the man-made downtown has been convenient, but it feels "a little artificial at times," said Addonizio-Re, noting that she would love to have some boutique shops, more green space and perhaps a dog park where the couple's puppy, Luna, can get exercise.
But like many young couples in the Danforth Apartments, Re and Addonizio-Re see the apartment as a stepping stone to the next chapter of their life: Owning a single-family home somewhere in the suburbs.
"Which is what we’re doing," Addonizio-Re said. "We don’t intend to stay here very long."
By the numbers
Ridge Hill in Yonkers: The 1.1 million square feet of commercial space was built on a 81-acre site, along with the 162-unit, 13-story Monarch apartment complex. Commercial tenants include Lord & Taylor, Whole Foods, The Container Store, Lowe's and Legoland Discovery Center.
Rivertowns Square in Dobbs Ferry: The 116,422 square feet of retail space, along with the 138-room Hilton Garden Inn and the 202-unit Danforth Apartments complex was built on a 17-acre site.
Chappaqua Crossing in Chappaqua: The 120,000 square feet of retail space, 500,000 square feet of rental office space, 64 apartments and 91 luxury townhomes are planned on the 114-acre former Reader's Digest corporate campus. Commercial tenants include Whole Foods Market and Life Time.
Pratt Landing in New Rochelle: A concept presented in 2014 called for 450 residential units, 100,000 square feet of retail space and a 200-room hotel on a 12.5-acre site.
Edge-on-Hudson in Sleepy Hollow: Total 1,177 residential units, along with a 140-room boutique hotel, 135,000 square feet of retail space, 35,000 square feet of office space and parks are planned for the 70-acre site.
Hudson Heritage in Poughkeepsie town: Total 750 residential units as well as 350,000 square feet of retail and 80,000 feet of medical space have been called for the 156-acre site.