New Rochelle Gives Cappelli Deadline To Make Progress on LeCount Square

New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson

By JOHN JORDAN

WHITE PLAINS – As if this summer isn’t hot enough, New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson just turned up the heat on Valhalladeveloper Louis Cappelli, who has ambitious plans for a project called LeCount Square. The mayor, while still supportive of the project, wants to see some tangible progress made by the end of this year.

Mayor Bramson, who was the keynote speaker at the June 17 meeting of the Westchester Putnam Association of Realtors’ Commercial Investment Division in White Plains, explained the rationale behind the City Council’s recent decision to grant Cappelli Enterprises another six-month extension until Dec. 31, 2010 on his $450-million mixed use LeCount Square project. Cappelli officials have blamed the recession and the failure to come to an agreement on the purchase of a key property—the U.S. Post Office at the corner of North Avenue and Huguenot Street—as the reasons why little progress has been made in advancing the development.

LeCount Square as envisioned will total more than one million square feet of new development and will consist of two tower buildings (50 stories and 19 stories) totaling 258 either rental or for sale residences; 380,000 square feet of office space, including a two-story securities trading floor; a 175-room hotel; 200,000 square feet of retail and 12,000 square feet of restaurant space. The project will also include an adjoining eight-story Loft Building that will feature 58 housing units and some retail on the ground floor.

In discussing the terms of the latest extension on the LeCount development, the mayor said, “We think that either this project will acquire momentum and begin moving towards realization within the next six months or it will be time to turn the page.”

The Council has established several new benchmarks to be achieved by Cappelli Enterprises. “Specifically, we require by July 31 the physical rehabilitation of a corner property that has fallen into disrepair, and we require by Dec. 31 written evidence of progress toward the sale of the Post Office,” the mayor stated in an electronic newsletter to city residents. “Unless both of these conditions are met, our present agreement with Cappelli Enterprises will terminate. We also included protections for the city against potential legal action. These provisions will enhance the possibility of progress on the site, while ensuring that we part on amicable terms if the project does not proceed.”

The mayor emphasized to CID attendees that he and the City Council are not requiring that a shovel be in the ground on LeCount Square by year’s-end, but “it means that these critical benchmarks be achieved and that we can have a tangible demonstration of commitment on the part of the developer and on the part of the other parties that are necessary in order to make this happen.”

The benchmarks are that a property at 5 Anderson Street, fallen into disrepair at the project site, be cleaned up by July 31 and that progress is made on the purchase of the U.S. Postal site by the end of this year.

In response to a question at the CID session, Mayor Bramson said that although Cappelli has not advised the city it might look to revise its development plan similar to the changes made recently to its massive downtown redevelopment plan in Yonkers, the City Council and he expect such a request will be made in the future.

“It is our expectation, and not one they (Cappelli) have denied, that in order for the project to proceed in the foreseeable future there would certainly have to be changes in the design that is outlined in their proposal that was analyzed in the SEQRA process. I don’t think that its composition would be sustainable in the economy we have today or the economy that is going to exist for some time (in the future),” the mayor said.

Joseph Apicella, executive vice president of Cappelli Enterprises, said in a telephone interview that the company would work with the owner of a vacant 38-unit apartment building at the 5 Anderson Street property mentioned in the extension.

In response to the new extension granted by the city, he said, “The city continues to respect the investment we have made in that city up to this point: the building of New Roc City, the building of Trump Plaza and the retail and entertainment in New Rochelle, all of those things have helped enliven the downtown. I hasten to think what would have happened had we not made that investment there.”

He added that Cappelli Enterprises continues to try to negotiate a deal to acquire the U.S. Post Office. Mr. Apicella said that because there are no incentives, such as state brownfield tax credits—as is the case in its project in Yonkers— LeCount Square has been a difficult and expensive project to get off the ground.

Mr. Apicella noted that even if Cappelli gets a good price to purchase the U.S. Post Office site, he calculated the total land acquisition costs would be in the $25 million to $30 million range.

Mr. Apicella also confirmed that Cappelli Enterprises is looking into changes to its original plan. “Actually we are thinking about the possibility of reconfiguring it to a marketplace that makes more sense.” He did not provide any specifics on what changes might be requested, although he said additional retail space could be possible.

Mr. Apicella added that Cappelli Enterprises is optimistic that it will be able to develop LeCount Square once the economy improves.

The mayor also discussed the status of other economic development initiatives such as Echo Bay, Main Street Core, David’s Island, as well as the city’s proposed “greeNR” sustainability plan, which he believes could receive City Council approval by sometime this fall.

This is part of the July 1, 2010 online edition of Construction News.

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