Westchester IDA Moves to Give $32.87M in Incentives to Three White Plains Projects

The Westchester County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) has given preliminary approval to $32.87 million in tax breaks for three developers working on projects in downtown White Plains. The financial incentives provide exemptions from paying sales and mortgage recording taxes.

The total cost of doing the three projects is estimated at just over $1.2 billion. The projects are expected to create more than 3,000 construction jobs and more than 500 permanent full-time and part-time jobs in the city, according to a report in the Westchester County Business Journal.

Lennar Multifamily Co. would receive $12.15 million in tax exemptions for its redevelopment of the former Westchester Pavilion at 60 S. Broadway. Revised plans for the $500 million project call for 814 apartments in two buildings and 28,056 square feet of ground-level retail and restaurant space. There would be 932 parking spaces created. Lennar proposes to build in two phases, each to take two years. with the first to begin in June 2020 and second in 2022.

Waterstone, which would receive $3.22 million, is a 5-story, 132-unit independent living facility slated to go up at 120 Bloomingdale Road. Cost is placed at $115 million for the project, which would include a four-story parking garage on an adjacent parcel. The developer also is proposing to make a $1.2 million donation to the White Plains Affordable Housing fund instead of satisfying its obligation to provide affordable units.

WP Mall Realty LLC is to receive $17.5 million in tax breaks for its Hamilton Green project on the site of the White Plains Mall on Hamilton Avenue. The project includes four apartment buildings with 860 units plus a 956-space parking garage, 85,400 square feet of retail and restaurant space and 27,000 square feet of co-working office space. The project has a projected total cost of $585.2 million.

Marsha Gordon, president and CEO of the Business Council of Westchester, the county’s only business membership organization focusing on economic development and advocacy, said this is another great step forward for the revitalization of Westchester’s downtowns.

“Development in and around our urban centers is reflective of the positive business outlook and living environment that has been established here in Westchester,” said Gordon. “These kinds of major projects drive economic development and job creation and will continue to move us forward in the right direction for decades to come. This is an exciting time for White Plains and for all of Westchester County.”