For non-residents, Ossining has never held the most attraction in Westchester: nice waterfront, notorious prison—but what else? Now, two plans for developing the Market Square area at Main and Spring Streets, including a sprawling village green, represent “the first of many steps towards creating a complete downtown,” says Mayor William R. Hanauer.
A proposed public space (at 15,000 square feet) includes a market pavilion, kiosks, plaza area, and lawn—conceived with farmers’ markets, concerts, festivals, and other community events in mind—along with three new mixed-use buildings. In total, the 1.5 acres at the center of the Village would host an estimated 22,000 square feet of retail space and 92,000 square feet of residential space, including 60 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments and eight private townhouses—ringing up at $23 million. A second plan (both are from the Downtown Revitalization Group) expands the square footage for an additional $3 million.
“Urban renewal did only half of its job, tearing down derelict buildings, but leaving us with parking lots. Now is the time to complete our village’s core,” said Hanauer in a February statement announcing the proposals, which, he’s quick to say, are only an inkling of what’s possible: “It could be a long application process” and “three to five years before the project breaks ground.” But future development of the properties, he asserts, will help the Village “continue our successful provisions of housing for residents of all financial means and businesses to service the entire community.”
