Nearly a year after presenting plans to build an affordable housing project at the former White Plains Linen site, the developer has made adjustments in response to city and community feedback.
On Monday, May 4, Stagg Group presented an update to the Peekskill Common Council on its concept to turn the long vacant 418 N. Division St. into a mixed-use multi-residential building with 158 units on six floors.
The site bordering Highland Avenue and North Division would have about 167,000 square feet of residential space, 5,200 square feet of retail or artists’ workspace, and 1,900 square feet of recreational space for residents.
The update followed a community meeting event held in the summer at the Field Library, hosted by Stagg, in which about 25 residents listened to the developer’s plans and shared feedback, including concerns of parking congestion.
“One of the concerns we heard loud and clear in community meetings were concerns for parking,” said architect Joseph Thompson. “So there’s been a substantial improvement.”
Stagg proposed less curb cuts at the site to increase public parking from eight spaces on Constant Avenue to 12 spaces. The total parking at the site for retail and community spaces is 27 parking spots. The building has 225 spaces of interior parking, with 198 for residential and the remainder for commercial parking.
Robert Tredger, of Newman Design, said the group also has addressed concerns about the building’s scale by refining the designs to have step-backs slightly smaller in scale.
Showing a rendering of Highland looking north to the neighboring properties, Tredger said, “The step-backs that occur on the upper floors to bring the scale down [are] more inviting to the neighborhood scale.”
Other adjustments include enlarging sidewalks about ten feet to allow five-foot planting beds required by the city and making rent more affordable.
The developer said project benefits include razing of existing vacant/deteriorated buildings, streetscape improvements (new sidewalk, lighting and trees), increased property value/taxes, new community center space, new artist maker spaces, and a $1 million plus contribution to a Parks & Recreation fund and infrastructure.
Councilman Brian Fassett, who previously expressed concerns about the building’s proposed appearance at an initial presentation, said he appreciated the updated design.
“I think the intent is fitting much better in the neighborhood, and I think that’s something that our residents have requested,” Fassett said. “And I think you’ve almost hit it out of the park. I appreciate the step-backs.”
Fassett inquired if the group looked into doing a shade study to see how it would directly affect the neighbors on Constant Avenue. Thompson confirmed a study was in development and could be shared with the city.
Attorney for the site Kathleen Bradshaw presented information on the Area Median Incomes (AMIs) for the 158 units, comprised of 19 studios, 62 one-bedrooms, 67 two-bedrooms, and 10 three-bedrooms.
Since the building is going to be 100 percent workforce, Bradshaw said the AMIs are looking to cover from 50 percent to 70 percent based on 2025 AMIs. [Affordable housing units are restricted to specific income brackets, commonly ranging from 30 percent to 165 percent of the Average Median Income.] A one bedroom unit’s rent would be $1,450 under a 50 percent AMI, $1,769 under a 60 percent AMI, and $2,088 under a 70 percent AMI. The 2026 AMIs by for Westchester County have not yet been published.
“We feel that these are reasonable AMIs and rents that would work for the community,” Bradshaw said. “And we think that this would serve keeping Peekskill residents in Peekskill and maybe attracting some younger workers as well as families and living in a brand new building with many amenities that would be a very affordable rent for the community.”
The next step for the project is for the council to refer it to the Planning Commission for their recommendation.
Mayor Expresses Concerns
Peekskill Mayor Vivian McKenzie thanked Stagg for looking at AMIs, but said she believed they did not look realistic. Two other council members voiced support for the AMIs.
“A lot of your examples led me to believe that you think most of the families in Peekskill are only one head of household, so the incomes kind of look low to me in terms of looking at the AMI,” McKenzie said, asking if the AMIs could be expanded to 80 percent to include more people that may have a little higher income and dual incomes in family versus one head of household.
Bradshaw said they would take a look to see if the 80 percent AMI works. She commented that the developers felt the previous time they presented that they inferred the council thought the rents were too high.
McKenzie also asked if developers could offer units to only Peekskill residents. Bradshaw said that while their project is geared toward Peekskill, Westchester County considers restricting offers to Peekskill residents as discrimination.
“We in other communities is we’ve come out months before the building opens, and we’ve worked with different community groups, church groups,” Bradshaw said. “In New Rochelle, we were in their public library and we had sessions showing the building… we had sessions with them on the lottery, when it’s opening, how to fill it out and how to know when to apply.”
Architect Joseph Thompson added he did not believe there would be any objection to a Peekskill-first type policy, adding he believed it would make a lot of sense and that the building should serve the community to the extent it can.
“We just don’t have control over it,” Thompson said. “So I say this with a tremendous amount of respect, but the council probably has access to the people who are in the decision-making position on those issues more so than we do, but we certainly wouldn’t take any objection to that.”
