David Smith of VHB Engineering (L) and Joshua Goldstein make their pitch for the proposed construction of 111 luxury residential rental apartments in Suffern.
Nothing quite draws people to the village or town hall like a proposed development project. Well, maybe there is one thing — development that would increase village center traffic snarls.
The Suffern Village Board meets Tuesday, October 22, at 7:30 p.m. at the Village Hall for a continuation of the public hearing on Orange Avenue Developers’ request for village approval for a new zoning designation for its proposed 111 unit resident apartment complex at Orange Avenue and Chestnut Avenue.
The Suffern Village Board, led by out-going Mayor Dagan Lacorte, will hold the second public hearing Tuesday evening on the proposed new Transit Development District (TDD) by local development company Orange Avenue Developers (OAD), headed up by Suffern High School graduate Joshua Goldstein. OAD, with Suffern Planning Board approval, has applied for the new zoning designation for the 7 lots it has in reserve in Suffern’s designated Urban Renewal district.
“We can choose our future,” Mayor Lacorte said to the audience as he kickoff of last Tuesday’s meeting. He said that the project had both merits and drawbacks but that the discussion really centered on the future of Suffern.
“When you you strip it down,” Lacorte said, “this is a discussion on whether we want to make an honest effort to bring economic development to our downtown.”
If approved for the new zoning designation, OAD would move forward with finalizing the purchase of the 7 lots the company holds in reserve and fast track the development of a 111 unit residential apartment complex that the company believes would become an economic engine to surrounding Suffern businesses. If the board eventually approves the TDD zoning change, the development would still have to go through a Planning and Zoning approval process as well as meet any required environmental impact assessments (EIA) on the surrounding area.
“The overwhelming concern for most homeowners, however, was the acknowledged exacerbation of an already intolerable traffic sitution within the village. . . . Some residents [also] voiced suspicions about the Village Board’s ulterior motives or ability to actually achieve the promised urban renewal.” — from Rockland County Times writer Cheryl Slavin’s detailed article on the Oct. 19 public meeting to approve a special Transit Development District in Suffern.
The major community focus to date has been on the height of the proposed residential apartment complex and on the traffic impact it would have on the village center itself. During the October 15 public meeting, speakers were nearly evenly split between business owners who approved of the development and residents who were cautious of a major rental unit adjacent to the center of Suffern.
At 70 feet high, the development comes in at six stories and will be the second tallest structure in Suffern, next to Park Place Condominiums at Park Place.
Several residents questioned the value of rental units versus condos, where people would invest over the long term in Suffern. Trustee and Deputy Mayor Jo Meegan-Corrigan referred attendees to an article related to a luxury apartment development proposed in Haverstraw, which explored the current market conditions that favor renters.
Street traffic and Suffern’s snarled congestion are the primary issues voiced by residents. A letter from Rockland County was read into the record that sounded nearly identical to the various red flags residents raised, such as the traffic that the development might create, the impact of its height on the identity of the village, and whether a residential apartment complex was the appropriate economic vehicle to area.
Goldstein and project engineer David Smith of VHB Engineering described the proposed Suffern luxury rental complex as a development that would draw people with disposable income. The one and two bedroom apartments would rent in the $1500 to $2500 range and the building would include a gym and community room, with the complex topped by a 2500 square foot roof deck. The TDD designation focuses on providing residents with access to transportation hubs and walkable stores, restaurants and other retail amenities found around Suffern’s village center.
The apartments would include onsite space for one car per apartment, with the intention to make space available in other lots throughout the village where residents could lease additional parking.
The community conversation continues at Tuesday evening’s second public meeting.
The Suffern Village Board meets Tuesday, October 22, at 7:30 p.m. at the Village Hall for a continuation of the public hearing on Orange Avenue Developers’ request for village approval for a new zoning designation for its proposed 111 unit resident apartment complex at Orange Avenue and Chestnut Avenue. For additional information, call the Village of Suffern at 845-357-2600.
