January 26, 2018

Toll Brothers to construct houses on GM site

SLEEPY HOLLOW – Eight months have passed since local dignitaries gathered at the former General Motors assembly plant site to celebrate a mega residential development that‘s been two decades in the making.

Homes have yet to be built on the 70-acre property on the Hudson River, but the developers of the 1,177-unit community called Edge-on-Hudson had reason to be optimistic this week.

“Over the course of 2017, we‘ve done a tremendous amount of development on the property,” said Peter Chavkin, lead consultant for a major development company that has been leading the project along with .

Drainage pipes and utility lines had been laid underground, and in recent weeks, streets — including the site‘s entrance roundabout at the far end of Beekman Avenue — were paved. About 250,000 yards of dirt were brought into the site — half of them by barges instead of trucks — to prepare the ground for home construction.

And part of the site is now ready to build. Toll Brothers, one of the largest home construction companies in the nation, has entered into a contract to purchase the first 15-acre phase of the project to build out 306 units.

Jonathan Stein, Diversified Realty‘s managing partner whose history with the site‘s development goes back to 1998, said considering the project‘s slow-moving history, the progress made in recent months has been exhilarating.

“To see this come to fruition, it‘s almost like an impossible dream that‘s truly coming true,” Stein said.

The remaining few steps for Toll Brothers before getting on the site is to finish architectural plans to receive building permits from the village, Chavkin said.

The first phase consists of 72 luxury townhomes, 46 condominiums and 188 rental apartments.

“More than likely, we‘ll probably bring townhomes to the market first,” said Chris Gaffney, Toll Brothers‘ group president overseeing suburban home construction in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York, adding that townhomes‘ presale may start as early as spring or summer.

Here are more details on these housing units:

• Townhomes, ranging from 2,300 square feet to more than 2,800 square feet, are expected to be priced from $1 million to more than $1.4 million.
• Condos that will include one-, two- and three-bedroom units, ranging from 800 square feet to more than 1,800 square feet. They will be priced from $700,000 to more than $1.5 million.
• Rental apartment options include one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Monthly rents haven‘t been finalized. Out of 188 rentals, 40 units are set aside for senior affordable housing and 21 for workforce housing.

Edge-on-Hudson, Gaffney said, will appeal to different demographics — from young professionals, families and empty-nesters —  because of its transit-oriented location, proximity to New York City, and access to the river and downtowns.

The site sits within walking distance to the Tarrytown and Philipse Manor Merto-North train stations.

“We think this is going to be a tremendous success,” Gaffney said.

He would not discuss the price tag of Toll Brothers‘ purchase agreement because the contract hasn‘t been finalized.

Along with townhomes and apartments, the first phase includes a portion of the 16-acre parkland, which offers public access.

As Toll Brothers start building homes on the Phase 1 site, SunCal and Diversified will work with village officials and residents to make the remaining portion of the site a reality, including a 140-room boutique hotel, 135,000 square feet of retail space, 35,000 square feet of office space, more parks, along with additional housing, Stein and Chavkin said.

The Sleepy Hollow waterfront development generated a number of lawsuits in the past decade, including the one filed by the village of Tarrytown over the project‘s impact on the area traffic. The dispute was ultimately settled after the two villages signed an agreement that requires the developers to pay Tarrytown $384,000 to mitigate the traffic impact.

Alexis Thornton, 34, of Sleepy Hollow, who recently moved into a house on Hudson Street that she and her husband built, said she understood some of longtime residents in the community don‘t welcome the project probably because they‘re afraid of change.

“I welcome change. I think it‘s going to help the community. It‘s going to help Beekman (Avenue),” she said. “I think Beekman is struggling right now, and a lot of stores were closed down. Once this comes here, it‘s going to bring a lot more businesses, and it‘s going to help the community.”