Public Comments Invited on Freightway Development January 22

(From Scarsdale Village) The Village of Scarsdale Committee of the Whole will convene a meeting on Tuesday, January 22, 2019 to garner public comments on the recently submitted responses to the Request for Expression of Interest for the Freightway Redevelopment Site (“Site”). The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 PM in Scarsdale Village Hall, 1001 Post Road.

The Freightway Visioning Committee (“Committee”) was tasked with developing a vision for the Site through an extensive process of gathering Village wide-community input. To meet this charge the Committee held three public workshops including focus groups, and conducted a series of on-site walking tours and surveys, both in person and electronically. The Committee’s work concluded with the release of the Freightway Site Redevelopment Study which was presented publically to the Village Board of Trustees. The Board subsequently agreed to a two-step process to select a preferred developer for the Site, the first step would be the development and release of a Request for Expression of Interest, and the second step would be the development and release of a Request for Proposal.

The development and release of a Request for Expression of Interest was completed in July, 2018 and resulted in seven responses from the development community, as follows: Toll Brothers; East End Capital; Fareri Associates and Gateway Development; Avalon Bay; Lennar Multifamily Communities; LCOR and BRP Development. The responses and corresponding background information are located here or you may visit scarsdale.com where the information is located on the home page.

The Vision for the Redevelopment of the Freightway Site states: “Any future development at the Freightway Site should be a signature project that positively contributes to the vibrancy of the Village Center while maintaining its current function as a commuter parking lot.”

The Vision is supported by seven guiding principles for the future development of an attractive, economically viable project as follows:
Principle 1 - Improve Parking and Circulation
Principle 2 - Ensure that public benefits are achieved by any development
Principle 3 - Ensure contextual development (scale, bulk, height)
Principle 4 - Encourage mixed-use development supportive of the Village Center
Principle 5 - Connect and integrate the Freightway Site with the Village Center
Principle 6 - Include environmentally sustainable development
Principle 7 - Plan for the long term future within a reasonably practicable time horizon

The Board of Trustees encourages any and all interested residents, property owners, merchants and other stakeholders to attend the meeting to provide input and/or thoughts about the responses to the Request for Expression of Interest.

The site is a 2.38 acre Village owned property currently used for commuter and merchant parking with approximately 700 spaces in an aging five-story parking garage and two surface parking lots.