A rendering of the Chicken Island Master Plan. Photo Credit: AMS Acquisitions
YONKERS, NY—A dream to develop the Chicken Island property in Yonkers may finally be coming to fruition after more than four decades of frustration.
The City of Yonkers announced on Monday it had signed a letter of intent to sell the six-acre property located northeast of City Hall for $16 million to New York City-based AMS Acquisitions LLC.
The real estate investment firm is no stranger to Yonkers, having previously developed the mixed-use 92 Main St. and the 86 Main St. office building in Downtown Yonkers.
“Seven years ago, the Chicken Island redevelopment plan was dead,” says Mayor Mike Spano, referring to a former plan floated more than a decade ago to build a mixed-use project that included a minor league baseball stadium on the site. “Now we have a workable plan, backed up with hard dollars that the city can use in the short run to fund our schools and essential services, and in the long run we will collect many millions of real estate and income taxes plus take another giant leap forward in revitalizing the downtown.”
The mayor notes that the city has tried for more than 40 years to develop Chicken Island without success. He terms the deal with AMS as “a game changer for Yonkers, because it proves economic development and a growing tax base is possible beyond the waterfront.”
City officials say that AMS Acquisitions' vision for Chicken Island is to become the epicenter of the downtown, with a concentration of shopping, dining and experiential retail, coupled with multifamily buildings, an office component and a luxury hotel.
“Downtown Yonkers is in the midst of a renaissance,” states Michael Mitnick, principal, AMS Acquisitions LLC. “AMS is invested heavily in the growth and expansion of this incredible and unique market. An abundance of culture, diversity and history, combined with a beautiful natural landscape, and robust development is fueling the success of this city.”
Chicken Island got its name in the late 1800s when the small island in the Saw Mill River was used as a local chicken farm. The site is zoned D-MX (downtown mixed-use zoning) a high-density zone permitting development up to 25 stories that permits retail, restaurant, office, colleges, personal service establishments, residential as well as many other development alternatives. AMS Acquisitions' development of Chicken Island will complement the building of the new Fire Station 1 on New School Street and the soon-to-be completed phase three of the Saw Mill Daylighting along New Main Street.
In the mid 2000s, Yonkers selected a development team nicknamed SFC, which proposed to develop approximately $3 billion of mixed-use space on the waterfront and downtown, including Chicken Island. The development team featured Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, Fidelco Realty Group, and Cappelli Enterprises. The ambitious plans of the partnership fell victim to the Great Recession and SFC eventually dissolved.
Officials with AMS could not be reached for comment at press time. AMS Acquisitions LLC, since its formation in 2012, has built a portfolio of approximately 1.5 million square feet throughout New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. AMS' development portfolio consists of an excess of $1 billion in total capitalization.
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John Jordan
John Jordan is a veteran journalist with 36 years of print and digital media experience.
