Patch Asked, You Answered: Give Us a Trader Joe's in Ossining!

When Patch asked what businesses you'd like to see surrounding the soon-to-be-rented out Avalon complex on the far end of North Highland, several people sounded a similar refrain:

Trader Joe's, Trader Joe's, Trader Joe's. 

Other votes came in for: IHOP, a very affordable gym, the existing but closed diner reopening, and, writes one, just about anything that would "give this town life."

Check out the comments by clicking in the above window and add your own ideas below. 

If my efforts to convince Trader Joe's to come to Tarrytown is any indication, it's tough to lure them, but you never know...

I also sought out the expert opinion of a woman who should know better than anyone what's going on behind the business scene, the head of Economic Development for the Village of Ossining, Ingrid Richard. 

Richard says she actively courts businesses that would be a good match for the area. While she has no particular leads on this exact area, it's all only a matter of time.

"Once they are able to rent and see people living there, it will entice retailers to rent there when they see the sustainability," Richard said. "It’s a great marketing tool. Here's more people and here’s the demographic and here’s what they want to buy."

Richard is optimistic that Avalon's occupancy, up for market rentals in February, will "assist in helping that retail corridor and the whole village."

When they do move in, her department provides them with a catalogue of local businesses and services, which they are compiling now. "It all plays into capturing that market."

Even with the bad news of Keenan House's closing, which one employee mourned as the "hope of the new Ossining," it's all onwards and upwards for Richard.

"Listen, we are trying trying trying," she said. "You can’t get tired. Keep on moving – it’s fluid. It’s going to be a very positive and bright future for us."