Developers Of New Residential Tower Hope Millennials Will Flock To New Rochelle
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Builders and suburban communities are betting heavily on a stampede of millennials looking to live close to an easy commute into the city.
As CBS2's Lou Young reported, a glittering sledgehammer in action said it all on Thursday. An unusual groundbreaking in downtown New Rochelle signaled a sudden burst of change.
CBS2 got a look inside the old movie theater on Main Street where the effort is happening. A 28-story tower will be erected at the site, according to developer Seth Pinsky.
Skyscrapers are not new in New Rochelle – they are visible driving by on Interstate 95. But the older towers were built after years of planning and permits.
Things have since changed in New Rochelle.
"When somebody comes forward with a project, 90 days, they'll have a building permit," said New Rochelle City Manager Chuck Stowe.
The project was conceived a mere 10 months ago after New Rochelle streamlined its procedures for building downtown. The entire area has been set for rezoning, and preapproved for an environmental impact.
At the groundbreaking, New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson was beaming.
"This isn't happening by accident or because of good luck," Bramson said. "It's happening by design."
The people putting up the residential building are also working in Yonkers, Long Island, and Connecticut. They expect millennials to arrive in droves.
"Our theory is that there's so much demand for housing and a shortage of housing in New York City," said Scott Rechler of RXR Realty. "Right now, we have about $3 billion in on our boards in downtowns just in the New York Metro region."
New Rochelle, in fact, is expecting $3 billion worth of investment in its downtown alone. The trend is so apparent that downtown suburbanites are concerned about city-style gentrification.
"My worry is that it's going to change the downtown so much that people who've lived here for many generations will be displaced, and where will they go?" said New Rochelle activist Erica Itzkowsky.
The actual work on the development begins on Monday, and developers tell CBS2's Young they expect to be finished in two years.
A similar project breaks ground in Glen Cove on Monday, but the builders say that one has been in the works for 10 years. Rents in the buildings are expected to be just a little over half of what it now costs to rent in the outer boroughs.
