Executive Summary
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Executive Summary A. INTRODUCTION WP Mall Realty, LLC (the “Petitioner”) with SWD II LLC (collectively the “Applicant”) have petitioned the City of White Plains, NY, (the “City”) for an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance of the City of White Plains (the “Proposed Action”), and are requesting Conceptual Development Plan (CDP) approval of a mixed-use transit-oriented development (“Hamilton Green”) on a 3.74 acre site located at 200 Hamilton Avenue, White Plains, NY (the “Site”) replacing the existing outdated and underperforming ±170,000 square foot, 2-story mall. Hamilton Green is proposed to be new vibrant, mixed-use community that would serve as a model for future development within the White Plains Transit District Strategic Plan1 study area, and would be consistent with the proposed Transit Development 1 (TD-1) District. Setting it apart from much other urban development, the foundation of Hamilton Green would be a “Public Platform” that connects all components of the development to the public realm that surrounds it. This interweaving of public and private spaces strengthens its connection to the City, as it anchors a new dynamic neighborhood that bridges between the TransCenter and the Downtown Core. The Public Platform would incorporate a unique, food-centric destination—an upscale Food + Craft Hall (42,000 GSF)—as well as innovative and active open space totaling 57,000 GSF (35 percent of the Site). The Petitioner requests to rezone Section 125.67, Block 5, Lot 1 on the City of White Plains Tax Map from the Neighborhood Business (B-2) Zoning District to a new TD-1 District. This proposed new zoning district would be consistent with the City of White Plains Transit District Strategic Plan (the “Strategic Plan”) to enable innovative development adjacent to the City’s transit hub and encourage a more walkable and less vehicle dependent community. The purpose of this Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) is to assess the potential environmental impacts of the Proposed Action and development approvals for Hamilton Green, as required under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and its implementing regulations (6 NYCRR Part 617). The City of White Plains Common Council (“Common Council”) is the designated Lead Agency for the SEQRA process. The Common Council declared itself Lead Agency and adopted a Positive Declaration requiring the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement on March 6, 2017. This DEIS has been prepared in accordance with the environmental analysis required by the Scoping Document 1 In December 2016, the City of White Plains published the White Plains Transit District Strategic Plan which sets forth a transit oriented development vision for the area surrounding TransCenter, including the subject Site. Hamilton Green | Executive Summary S-1 approved by the Common Council acting as Lead Agency on May 1, 2017 (“Adopted Scope”). A copy of the Adopted Scope and all relevant SEQRA documents can be found in Appendix A. B. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED PROJECT Hamilton Green has been designed to exemplify the qualities prioritized by the City’s Strategic Plan—it would be a dense, vibrant, mixed-used community with varied architecture proximate to public transportation. The entire block is organized around a central elevated green space— the Hamilton Green—a transformative extension of the City’s “public realm.” The Site is strategically located within the central business district (CBD) of the City of White Plains, positioned between and potentially as the connecting knuckle between the City’s retail core at Main Street and Mamaroneck Avenue and the TransCenter, a short 5 minute walk away. More specifically, the Site is situated on an entire block bounded by Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard (MLK Blvd) to the west, Hamilton Avenue to the south, Barker Avenue to the north, and Cottage Place to the east. The Site is currently occupied by the ±170,000 square foot White Plains Mall (the “Mall”), and is fully developed with the existing mall building and associated parking, sidewalks, and other impervious surfaces. The limited landscaping surrounding the building is primarily within the City of White Plains right-of-way, and is comprised of street trees. The Site is essentially completely impervious with no wetlands, steep slopes, or other sensitive environmental features. The City of White Plains recognizes the opportunity for the downtown to become an example of a sustainable community with pedestrian-friendly sidewalks and streets, a balanced mix of land uses, and activated and exciting public spaces—all proximate to a variety of transit options. Downtown White Plains has the potential to be a place where people enjoy the convenience of living within walking or biking distance to everything essential to meeting the hierarchy of daily needs, and all with New York City and the greater metropolitan area just a short train ride away. To enhance the City’s urban core and capitalize on its wealth of transportation facilities, the City of White Plains prepared the Strategic Plan that identifies opportunities and strategies to create a sustainable and exciting downtown. What has always been an important element of a successful city and urban environment is a public realm that serves the community in a meaningful way, day in and day out. The public realm is defined as those streets, sidewalks, alleyways and vias, parks, and places that are accessible to all, independent of ownership. In the Applicant’s opinion, it is the quality, not just the quantity of this realm that is vital to the creation of urban environments that successfully establish a place for people to work, meet, congregate, and live. This requires a hierarchy of streets that articulate a balance of pedestrian and vehicular priorities, including active sidewalks and streetscapes that connect a series of meaningful public spaces, and places that welcome the resident, visitor, consumer, and public in general. In the Applicant’s opinion, a successful and active public realm in partnership with sufficiently diverse, residentially driven mixed-use neighborhoods, can be a proven formula for creating enduring 24/7 urban environments. Those environments, when woven together by a series of non-traditional demand generators like libraries, civic centers, entertainment venues, institutions of higher education, and centers of wellness, create vital and relevant urban districts. Those districts become ever more potent and enduring when anchored by a successful mass transit center tied to a regional system. S-2 Hamilton Green | Executive Summary Hamilton Green has been designed around a Public Platform—a street related physical “base” to the development program that could immediately become a key component of White Plains’ public realm. The Public Platform incorporates street level amenities including retail and sidewalk cafés, and 22,400 gross square feet (GSF) of street-level public open space leading to a stepped park on the corner of MLK Blvd and Hamilton Avenue that draws the pedestrian up to an additional 29,600 GSF of elevated open space in the form of the Hamilton Green public plaza. Given the change in grade across the site, the Hamilton Green elevated open space would be accessible at street level from Cottage Place as one passes through the upscale Food + Craft Hall. The Public Platform would be activated by street retail and a fully developed program of events and activities: a place to meet, gather, and experience the urban fabric and all it has to offer. This revitalizing concept could become the centerpiece of the public realm within the Strategic Plan study area. Above the Public Platform would be a series of residential buildings totaling approximately 900 dwelling units that are fully integrated into the Hamilton Green experience—without limiting the public's access to the full open space program—reflecting that this place is for everyone. Each of the five residential buildings that comprise Hamilton Green is conceived to have its own identity in terms of architecture and design, branding, and address. This serves several functions: (1) it gives the development the perceived appearance of being developed over time, which aids in the authenticity of place; (2) it breaks down the massing of the development, which makes the project more identifiable and intimate; and (3) it aids in navigation for residents, the public, and first responders. In this way—between the massing, varied scale, pedestrian connections through the Site, and the required separation of the buildings under the proposed TD-1 District—Hamilton Green would break up the existing superblock. CONCEPTUAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN The Hamilton Green CDP has been designed as a mixed-used community that capitalizes on its location near the TransCenter, and would serve as a local and regional destination for retail, dining, and sidewalk cafes with a dynamic public open space at its core. It is designed to enhance the public realm of the City of White Plains and act as a catalyst for transit forward development within the Downtown Core. Hamilton Green’s new multifamily residential units are targeted to a diversity of residents looking for a more urban lifestyle with suburban amenities. Above and around the podium level retail, sidewalk cafés, Hamilton Green open space, and Food + Craft Hall would be approximately 900 multifamily residential units meeting a diverse housing market in five buildings ranging from approximately 125 feet to 280 feet in height. Each building would provide a variety of residential opportunities, all with easy access to downtown amenities including the City of White Plains TransCenter with its regional train service via the MTA Metro-North Railroad and regional bus service through the Westchester County Bee-Line Bus Terminal located two blocks away. In addition to having direct access to the public open space, residents of Hamilton Green would also have access to private residential green space. Structured parking with 1,060 parking spaces and loading would be located out of view and within the interior of the development.