Turning The Somers IBM Campus Into A Private School

SOMERS, NY — A company that wants to turn the massive former IBM campus on Route 100 into a large private school has made an initial presentation to Somers town officials.

IBM built the campus in 1984 on 723 acres, planning for 5,000 employees. It has five interconnected modern high tech buildings — the pyramids visible from I-684 — totalling 1.2 million square feet. It was designed by I.M. Pei.

The proposal is for a private boarding and day school called the Somers Academy, for grades 9-12 specializing in science, technology and math. Its creators want it to open in 2020.

Because the property is zoned for office or higher education, a high school will require a zoning change. Town Supervisor Rick Morrissey said that process would provide everyone with a chance to look closely at the whole plan.

Morrissey posted on the town's website:

A presentation was given to the Town Board about a new tenant and proposed use at the former IBM property. The presentation is available here for viewing, but also wanted to pass along some of the details that were provided.

The proposal is to operate an academy for 9th through 12th grade students, utilizing the entire square footage of the buildings on the property. To be clear, the property will remain on the tax roll. The plan includes major interior renovations so that the buildings can be used for classroom/academic space, labs and housing for students. They also plan to construct an athletic complex and art center. In addition, the applicant proposes to reduce the number of parking spaces from 3,200 to 600 by converting them into athletic fields. That’s about 10-12 acres of parking being changed to fields.

Approximately 85% of the student body would reside on campus. Their tuition estimates range from $49,000/year for residential students to $37,000/year for day students. The proposal escalates the number of students over 4 years, eventually maxing out at an enrollment of 1,800. They plan to employee over 235 teachers, staff and security personnel. To put this into perspective, at its peak use IBM employed approximately 3,000 people who commuted to the property daily. This proposed use would, at its max capacity, generate about 15% of the daily commuters the site once handled.

The academy clientele is expected to be mostly domestic students with about 20% international students. The academic focus will be on science, technology, engineering, mathematics and the arts.

The property is currently zoned for office or higher education uses. An academy educating 9th through 12th graders is not “as-of-right”, and therefore would require a zoning change by the town. This provides the town with an opportunity to conduct an extensive review, which will include public hearings. There will be much more to come on this, and ample opportunities for public input. Tonight’s presentation was the first step of the process.

The team involved is huge, according to the presentation. Among the local companies involved are:

• Evergreen Ridge, LLC - School campus development, management and academic program design. Based in White Plains.
• KG&D Architects - Full service architecture firm with extensive school design, construction, and renovation experience. Based in Mt. Kisco.

• Bleakley Platt & Schmidt, LLP - A leader in the Westchester legal community for over 80 years, providing highly‐skilled legal services in all the areas. Based in White Plains.
• Kimley‐Horn – Full‐service consulting firm composed of planners, civil engineers, landscape architects, traffic engineers and environmental professionals. Extensive experience with the NYSEQR process and private development in Westchester County. Based in White Plains.
• DelBello Donnellan Weingarten Wise & Wiederkehr LLP ‐ A leading full service law firm which has acted as counsel on billions of dollars of significant real estate development transactions throughout the Hudson Valley Region. Based in White Plains.
• Insite Engineering, Surveying & Landscape Architecture, PC– Site civil engineering, surveying and landscape architecture firm with extensive design and permitting experience in northern Westchester, Town of Somers and the NYC Watershed. Based in Carmel.
• Thompson & Bender – Full service public relations company with extensive experience with local schools and universities. Handling media inquiries and interviews pertaining to the Somers Academy project. Based in Briarcliff Manor.

Image via presentation to Somers Town Board