RXR to Develop 28-Story Mixed-Use Towers in New Rochelle

By Jeffrey Steele

The city of New Rochelle is teaming with RXR Realty on a major redevelopment project in the city’s downtown. The project will feature 650 to 700 residences as well as 35,000 to 40,000 square feet of ground floor retail space across a pair of 28-story towers.

The high-rise buildings will be located on the former Church-Division parking lot in New Rochelle, N.Y. This is RXR Realty’s second project in the central area and the first to be constructed on one of its sites as part of the master development agreement with the City.

Downtown area transforming

The city’s redevelopment plan is expected to lure more than $4 billion in new investment to downtown New Rochelle. The strategy is based on the rezoning of roughly 280 acres of land around the train station. It also enables more than 12 million square feet of new construction, including up to 2.4 million square feet of prime office space, one million square feet of retail, 6,370 housing units and 1,200 hotel rooms.

“We are big believers in New Rochelle and its future potential, thanks to the city’s many positive characteristics, including its walkability, character and diversity,” RXR Realty’s Executive Vice President & Investment Manager Seth Pinsky, told MHN. “We are also enthusiastic about the site’s proximity to New Rochelle’s train station and the incredible views of Manhattan and Long Island Sound the site will offer residents.”

It follows RXR’s 587 Main St. development, another 28-story, mixed-use structure featuring 280 apartments as well as retail and cultural spaces. “Now that we are in the ground on our first project in the city, 587 Main St., we wanted to begin the process for the development of our next major project, with the goal of bringing this next project to market as 587 Main St. stabilizes,” Pinsky added.

Approval pending

Currently being referred to as the Church-Division project, as a result of its location, the redevelopment awaits site plan approval. RXR anticipates obtaining it by late this year. Construction of the first tower is expected to commence in the second half of next year. At about the same time, RXR’s 587 Main St. project will begin leasing.    

“With this announcement, the most significant since the adoption of our ambitious downtown development plan, New Rochelle’s revitalization efforts kick into high gear,” Mayor Noam Bramson said in a prepared statement. “RXR’s new project brings us a huge step closer to achieving our shared vision for a thriving, diverse city center, and will set the stage for further private investment in our local economy. I congratulate the RXR team and look forward to making this exciting vision a reality.”

Flexible zoning regime

Zoning and other approvals obtained from local authorities are among major hurdles associated with new development, particularly in suburban markets in the New York region. These are highly politicized and unpredictable processes, according to Pinsky. 

In New Rochelle, this risk was mitigated by the master development strategy pursued by the city in partnership with RXR as master developer. “As a result of this process, the city has put in place a very flexible zoning regime with a streamlined, depoliticized process for other approvals,” he said. “The predictability of these approvals has made development in New Rochelle far more attractive.”

Image courtesy of City of New Rochelle via Facebook