One Lyon. Photos courtesy Howard Hanna Rand Realty
The multi-family developments, worth a collective $131 million, offer over 300 new apartments in downtown White Plains.
The Westchester County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) has voted preliminary and final approval of financial incentives for the construction of two separate multi-family residential developments in downtown White Plains. The projects, which represent a combined $131 million in private investments, are the next entry in a long list of recent developments in the White Plains real estate market.
“The IDA is proud to provide preliminary and final approval of incentives for these two important residential developments in downtown White Plains. These projects are creating hundreds of new multi-family apartments with a portion being affordable units. In addition, they represent a significant private investment in our County’s economy,” says Westchester County IDA Chairperson Joan McDonald.
The first of these residential development projects, 51 South Broadway, was granted preliminary approval by the IDA Board during its meeting on January 27. The project will be constructed on a 1.02-acre lot and, when complete, will be an eight-story building comprised of 134 apartments, 27 of which will be studios, 59 of which will be one-bedroom units, and 48 of which will be two-bedroom units. The building will have various amenities, which will include a pool, garden terrace, barbecue grills, exterior fireplace, and seating area. Additionally, there are plans to construct a fitness center, resident lounge, co-working spaces, and a conference room. The building will also have an above-ground, two-floor garage complete with amenity spaces along the street frontage.
51 South Broadway represents a $48 million investment by project developer RMS Companies of Stamford, a Connecticut-based real estate development company that specializes in “luxury lifestyle homes and boutique hotels” in the tristate area. RMS is currently seeking $1.5 million in sales tax exemptions and $350,000 in mortgage recording tax exemptions. The lot that 51 South Broadway will be built upon is currently inhabited by a defunct retail center, which will need to be demolished before construction can begin. It is anticipated that this effort will generate 67 full-time jobs for the duration of the construction.
One Lyon, the second of these projects, was granted final approval in an IDA Board meeting earlier this month. The $83 million project consists of a two-building complex located at both 1 Lyon Place and 10 Lyon Place. It is comprised of 212 residential units – a mix of studios, one-bedroom units, and two-bedroom units – six percent of which will be dedicated to affordable housing at 60-percent Area Median Income (AMI). One Lyon will have numerous amenities, including a gym with an outdoor yoga studio, a recreational garden, business center, pet spa, rooftop pool with grilling stations, virtual reality games room, party room, wine bar, billiard lounge, coffee shop, and roof deck.
The centerpiece attraction of One Lyon will be its connection to local art. Beitel Group, the development company behind One Lyon, has stressed the importance of art both inside and outside of the building. To achieve this end, Beitel Group entered a partnership with ArtsWestchester. The in-house art gallery will house exhibits from ArtWestchester, with works from local artists. In addition, Beitel Group plans to enlist artists to help paint a large mural on the sky bridge of the north building– quite literally wearing its desire to bring art to downtown White Plains on its sleeve.
“The building will be celebrating life and art,” said Benny Sheinfeld, VP of Development and Construction at Beitel Group during a recent video on the ongoing development at One Lyon. “People will be excited to live in [One Lyon] and people will be excited to come home and take part in the community life which they will have in the building”
“The Partnership between Beitel Group and ArtsWestchester is really special because it’s about creating something that reflects the community through art and isn’t just another building,” says Kathleen Reckling, Senior Deputy Director of ArtsWestchester, on the joint effort at One Lyon. “What’s really exciting about working with Bietel Group on this project is that they really get it. They really understand the value of art and making their place something special. And they’re not coming in after the walls are up. They’re starting at the beginning. Art is integrated into the DNA of this building, so everywhere you look you see something fresh, something creative.”
Beitel Group is a New York City-based development company with 45 “diverse, vibrant multifamily communities elevated by every metric” and over 10,000 residential and commercial units through the U.S. market. It was seeking $2.7 million in sales tax exemption, $664,000 mortgage recording tax exemption, and a 14-year Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement valued at approximately $14 million.
With the final approval received, the path forward is clear for Beitel Group and One Lyon. It is estimated that the project will be completed by December 2022, with the first wave of tenants moving in by spring of 2023. RMS Companies of Stamford and 51 South Broadway still need final approval by IDA before they can move forward with construction.
Related: One Lyon Aims to Transform Prime Real Estate in Downtown White Plains
