A population explosion in the quiet little village of Buchanan could be coming down the pike with nearly 200 units of new apartments in the works.
Two projects – “AMS Buchanan” behind Buchanan Hardware, and “Village Square” at the corner of Lake Street – are planned a quarter-mile apart from each other on Albany Post Road also known as Route 9A.
The AMS Buchanan proposal is for a five-story, 148-unit multi-family residential building comprised of one- and two-bedrooms with residential amenities and parking on a six-acre site at the corner of Craft Lane and Albany Post Road. The project includes 56 one-bedroom and 92 two-bedroom units of market-rate rentals.
The project includes 225 parking spaces, 162 in a parking structure beneath the building, and 63 of surface parking.
Just south of that site, Pasqualino and Anthony Carbone have plans to build 51 apartments and a commercial building at Post Road and Lake Street. That plan calls for three free-standing buildings with 17 two-bedroom units in each building. The buildings will include recreation space and a laundry.
Such a dramatic addition of apartments would be a huge change in the makeup of the village. Currently, 84 percent of the housing stock is comprised of one-family houses and 83 percent is owner-occupied housing in a population of just over 2,000. The new apartments, if constructed, would grow Buchanan’s population by more than 10 percent.
Major New Jersey developer sets sights on Buchanan
AMS Acquisitions LLC is a Fort Lee, N.J.-based real estate investment firm that focuses on the acquisition and development of retail, residential, and office properties. Founded in 2012, AMS has built a portfolio of more than 1 million square feet, with an aggregate transaction volume in excess of $1 billion.
AMS has developed residential apartment properties in New York City, Yonkers and throughout New Jersey. The firm is also working on developing another proposal at 800 East Main St. in Shrub Oak.
AMS has a contract with Mark Franzoso’s firm, Gusti Realty LLC, the owner of the parcel behind Buchanan Hardware, to buy the property dependent on winning approvals from the village.
AMS started the process of seeking the approvals in April of 2022 and has made numerous presentations over the past two years. The town board held a public hearing on Feb. 5 to discuss the project and Mayor Theresa Knickerbocker repeated her desire to see a retail component added to the project.
The board could vote on awarding site plan approval and a special permit following the next public hearing scheduled for the March meeting.
The western side of the project site has frontage on NYS Route 9A (also known as Albany Post Road). West of the project site across Route 9A are residential neighborhoods generally comprised of one- to two-story single-family homes.
The eastern side of the site abuts a Con Edison-owned high-voltage electric transmission line corridor. Further east past the electric transmission line corridor are the Metro-North Railroad Hudson Line tracks and NYS Route 9. North of the site is Craft Lane, beyond which are a mix of light industrial and manufacturing uses. The southern portion includes a pond, which extends off-site to the south.
Regarding the other project, in December of 2022 representatives of Carbone Brothers 3095 LLC submitted a complete application to the Village of Buchanan Planning Board for C-1/C-2 Overlay District Special Permit and Site Plan approval and other related approvals for the development of approximately 4.87 acres of property located at 3095 Albany Post Road. The project was discussed at the Planning Board’s January 2023 meeting and at meetings of the board throughout the remainder of last year.
The plan calls for 51 multi-family residential units proposed in three separate buildings supported by 102 at-grade parking spaces; a 2,275-square-foot commercial building supported by 10 at-grade parking spaces; and a 17,358-square-foot stormwater wetland system design consistent with NYS DEC Stormwater Design Manual.
Carbone Brothers Kitchens, Baths, Fine Cabinetry & Stone Fabricators have operated in Buchanan for over 50 years, manufacturing kitchens, vanities, laminate & Corian tops and fine cabinetry for their residential and commercial customers. They also fabricate granite, marble and quartz countertops and do total renovations of kitchens and bathrooms.
Raising revenue for the village
For four decades, Buchanan relied on tax revenue generated by the operation of the Indian Point nuclear facility. The village is receiving state money to compensate for some of that lost revenue since Indian Point was closed, but over the long-term, new tax revenue-generating development must be found.
According to a published report, Buchanan is losing about $2.6 million each year because of the Indian Point closure. The town of Cortlandt is suffering an $800,000 shortfall and the Hendrick Hudson school district loses about $25 million in revenue that Indian Point’s operators paid in taxes, approximately one-third of its annual budget.
Developers of the AMS proposal say that their project will generate about $830,000 in annual tax revenue – $472,00 to the school district, $250,000 to the village and $78,000 to the county.
Phone calls for comment to AMS Acquisitions and Carbone were not returned.
