Chappaqua Crossing Litigation Ends

CHAPPAQUA, NY — All the litigation surrounding the development of Chappaqua Crossing at the iconic Readers Digest property has come to an end. New Castle Town Supervisor Rob Greenfield marked the occasion with a statement. So did Felix Charney of Summit Greenfield.

"The journey from our purchase of The Reader’s Digest property in December 2004, until the recent final approvals that are now allowing new construction to begin has been long and arduous," Charney said Tuesday. "The lawsuits that were brought and have now been settled were a part of what proved to be an exceedingly challenging process of finding an acceptable, workable and economically viable plan to adaptively re-use this classic American corporate campus."

Greenstein recalled that Summit Greenfield, the developer of Chappaqua Crossing, filed a lawsuit against the Town of New Castle back in 2011. The federal action alleged that the Town had violated Summit Greenfield's rights under the Fair Housing Act and other federal laws. Summit Greenfield also filed a state action alleging that the Town’s delays and other actions had deprived Summit Greenfield of all economically viable use of the property and prevented the construction of affordable housing on the site.

"That litigation has officially ended!" Greenstein said in a press release. "Back in 2011, many residents, including myself, believed that the Town Board was mishandling Chappaqua Crossing. By 2011, Summit Greenfield had already spent 6 years before the Town Board. To me, the Town Board looked lost. They didn’t know what they wanted at Chappaqua Crossing and were spinning their wheels. Only the lawyers benefited – they were paid handsomely! Given the cards we were dealt in 2014, I’m proud of what my administrations have accomplished at Chappaqua Crossing. With input from our Planning Board, we persuaded Summit Greenfield to move away from its original proposal to build big box stores, and instead to design a more community-oriented, walkable retail development."

Here is Charney's statement:

The journey from our purchase of The Reader’s Digest property in December 2004, until the recent final approvals that are now allowing new construction to begin has been long and arduous. The lawsuits that were brought and have now been settled were a part of what proved to be an exceedingly challenging process of finding an acceptable, workable and economically viable plan to adaptively re- use this classic American corporate campus.

We are pleased that after 12 years we are at last moving forward with a plan that encompasses multiple uses that will utilize and enhance the existing office space and campus infrastructure while bringing much-needed new housing, retail services and tax revenues to the Town of New Castle. Chappaqua Crossing will be a model for redevelopment than we are confident that we and the community will be proud of. When complete, the renewed campus will serve as a model for other communities faced with finding creative ways to bring new life to former corporate properties. We are appreciative of the efforts of Supervisor Rob Greenstein and the Town Board for seeing this long approval process to a successful conclusion for all parties.

Greenstein listed a set of changes negotiated by the town that were essential to make the project work for the community:

• We required that 20% of the total retail space on the property be dedicated to health and fitness-related uses. Life Time Fitness is now coming to Chappaqua Crossing. Lifetime will be utilizing 1/3 of the retail space. The remaining retail space will include a mix of new restaurants and small stores that will compliment, not destabilize, our existing merchants.
• We persuaded Summit Greenfield to pay the Town $1.5 million, which will be used to create other recreational opportunities and further mitigate impacts associated with the development.
• The townhouses on the site will be taxed as individual, fee-simple properties, not as condominiums. This will ensure that townhouse owners pay their fair share of property taxes.
• We persuaded Summit Greenfield to widen and approve the driveway entrance into Horace Greeley High School to alleviate the traffic congestion that occurs there every weekday morning.
• We saved the Wallace Auditorium from destruction. We persuaded Summit Greenfield to transfer ownership of the facility to the Town, for free, so it can be used and enjoyed by our residents, civic groups and other organizations.
• We created new open space by persuading Summit Greenfield to remove the houses it owns along Roaring Brook Road and transfer those properties to the Town, for free, so the land can be forever preserved as a natural buffer between the development and surrounding neighborhood.
• The cupola building is being redeveloped for market rate, workforce and affordable rental housing. The renovation is already underway.

PHOTOS/ contributed