First transit-oriented development planned for Orange County

| 05 Jan 2017 | 01:37

BY ERIKA NORTON
A developer from New Jersey has introduced plans to turn the area around the Harriman train station into a small, walkable town, combining transportation, shopping, restaurants, recreational and community facilities with contemporary neighborhoods. While the concept of a transit-oriented development, or TOD, isn’t new, Neil Gold said the proposed Gardens at Harriman Station development will be the first of it’s kind in Orange County.
“One way to think about it is, if you imagine a city, whether it’s New York, Chicago, whatever, every subway stop was in effect a TOD,” Gold said. “You have retail near the subway and then you’d have apartments springing out all around. This is not a city, and it wouldn’t be as dense, but it's the same type of thing. You plan around a transit hub, so that people can go to work and come back.”
The planOn the 130-acre site, Gold plans to build a mixture of apartments, townhouses and single-family dwellings, 1,500 homes in total in walkable neighborhoods, as opposed to more traditional suburban two-acre lot, or one-acre lot subdivisions. Design-wise, the 215-home Warwick Grove “New Urbanist Traditional Neighborhood Development” in Warwick is mentioned in the concept plan as an example of the type of architectural design one might see throughout the Gardens.
There will also be about 250,000 square feet of retail space, creating easy access to shopping, personal services, restaurants and bars.
Other amenities planned are swimming pools, a daycare center and recreational opportunities, such as connections to the nearby Heritage Trail and the Appalachian Trail for hiking. The 30-acre wetlands area would become a wetlands park with elevated pathways and an education center.
To thread all of these aspects together, bike lanes, walking paths and a running track will be interwoven throughout the development and separated from vehicular traffic, creating numerous options for extreme accessibility while promoting healthier, more active lifestyles.
As per who will be moving into these homes, Gold said he see’s them appealing to two groups on opposite ends of the spectrum that he says are not being served in the county right now — Millennials and older citizens.
“Millennials, young people are leaving the county, and older people who no longer want to maintain a one family house for a variety of reasons, it could be age, it could be infirmities, it could be a change of lifestyle, who knows,” Gold said, “but this development will give people options that they might not have otherwise.”
Land zoned for this conceptThe tract of land around the Harriman station is already zoned for something just like this. In 2011, the idea of a “mixed-use Transit Village” for that area, was added to the Woodbury Comprehensive Plan and zoning after county planners worked with the Manhattan-based Regional Plan Association to shape the plan.
The previous owner of the site, Brooklyn developer Martin Harfenes, had pitched the idea of a transit village for the area since 2001, according to online archives, but the plan never came to fruiting and the land sold in 2012 to an entity called Woodbury Real Estate Group LLC. Caesar’s Entertainment also had a bid to build a casino on this land, but the idea fell through in December 2014 after state casino approval went to a different proposal in Sullivan County.
Gold said his proposal was based on the language in the Comprehensive Plan and doesn’t ask for a single variance. He also plans to construct an on-site waste treatment plant to fulfill the needs of the development.
Tourism opportunityDue to its close proximity with the train station, Woodbury Common shopping outlets, and New York City, Gold also sees an opportunity for tourism. He hopes to work with the MTA and the county to boost interest in visiting the Hudson Valley.
“Most of the people who come to the Woodbury Commons from Europe and Asia, don’t know about the Hudson Valley,” Gold said. “They have no idea the beauties of the Hudson Valley, of Orange County, particularly the new wineries and breweries and cideries that are there. Orange County is a wonderful place, but not many people in the tri-state area no about it, and so I hope to spur that along.”
Successful examples of TODs can be seen along the Long Island Railroad and in Connecticut, with the trend beginning to pop up in the lower Hudson Valley as well. The largest effort in is proposed for the area near the train station in New Rochelle, potentially adding 5,5000 residences and 990,000 square feet of retail space.
Other TODs are planned for Mount Vernon with a planned 3,000 new residences and 260,000 square feet of retail space, and Port Chester with several apartment buildings in the works. With an even closer proximity to New York City, these areas are also trying to attract young professionals and “empty-nesters” to live in the area.
TimelineGold said he is currently in contract to purchase the land, and that while the Woodbury Planning board approved the concept plan at their Dec. 7 meeting, there is still long way to go before construction begins.
“We haven’t even begun the environmental review process yet,” Gold said. “The final approval won’t be for another year and a half. So the first buildings will come in at the end of 2019. It’s a long way to go. This is not happening tomorrow, and it will probably take about six or seven years to build, maybe a little longer.”
He said while no one can predict what the market, demand and interest rates will be in three years, and that a lot will depend on the nature of the Trump presidency, he thinks the concept of the development is what will find favor.