NEW ROCHELLE, NY—The process that could result in the development of millions of square feet of mixed-use space in the downtown district here officially began with the approval of a master developer agreement with RDRXR.
The RDRXR firm is a joint venture of Long Island, NY-based Renaissance Downtowns and RXR Realty LLC. The council approved the master development agreement at a session on Monday. City officials termed the agreement's approval as “the start of the largest and most significant economic development initiative in the city's history.”
“We have a historic opportunity to achieve a dramatic, positive transformation of New Rochelle's downtown and transit area, “ says New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson. “And through an inclusive, transparent planning process, every resident of New Rochelle will have a voice in shaping our future. Along with the entire City Council, I am excited about this partnership and ready to get to work.”
City Manager Charles B. Strome, III adds, “This comprehensive downtown redevelopment project will revitalize our city's core, strengthen our economy and attract new opportunities. We look forward to working in partnership with RDRXR and begin to shape the future of our City.”
RDRXR will begin to work immediately with the city and its residents through their “Crowdsourced Placemaking” program and “Unified Development Approach” to create a consensus-driven, mixed-use, transit-oriented proposal that will build on New Rochelle's existing strengths and assets. To formally launch this public process, RDRXR will open a storefront on North Avenue in early 2015, city officials state.
“We are thrilled to be taking this important step in our collaboration with the City of New Rochelle and its residents,” says Scott Rechler, CEO of RXR Realty. “We look forward to developing a vision that builds on the many strengths of this community and to ensuring that this vision gets realized in a way that will be sensitive to the community's proud history, while positioning it to continue to thrive throughout the 21st Century and beyond.”
Donald Monti, president and CEO, Renaissance Downtowns, adds, “We are extremely excited at the prospect of creating a vibrant center of commerce, culture and activity that will set a new standard for community driven, downtown revitalization.”
Mayor Bramson says that the development team has projected it could have a shovel in the ground on the first phase of the downtown development project within the next 18 to 24 months. The mayor termed that as an ambitious timetable, but one that he hopes can be achieved with public support. The full build-out potential of the RDRXR downtown initiative could total anywhere from five million to 10 million square feet of new construction.
In May, the City of New Rochelle issued a Request for Qualifications to fulfill both existing revitalization concepts and to formulate new ideas for the design, construction and operation of mixed use development for key “cluster parcels” in the downtown: the Transit-Oriented Development Cluster and Downtown Cluster. In October, the City Council designated RDRXR as New Rochelle's preferred development partner in this process and authorized the Bramson Administration to negotiate the terms of the MDA.
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John Jordan
John Jordan is a veteran journalist with 36 years of print and digital media experience.
