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The project is being proposed by the Toll Brothers, an Pennsylvania-based developer. The company is attempting to build a townhouse complex built in the Washington Avenue office park, which currently houses two empty office buildings. The plan was first submitted to the village in September 2012, and has undergone environmental impact reviews as well as an approval process to rezone the property for residential use.
The Village Board has approved a zoning change that would allow the residential units to be built in the former office space. The next step is for a site plan review by the Planning Commission before it can be built.
The proposed project would see 68 townhouse units on the 18 acre parcel of land. The original proposal called for 73 units, but it was scaled back to address traffic concerns. The townhouses would be up to 35 feet high, and between 1,900 and 2,800 square feet. The units are estimated to sell for between $600,000 and $800,000 each, with 10 percent set aside for affordable housing.
The proposed project would make use of the unused office space and bring in tax money, according to David Cooper, an attorney representing the Toll Brothers. It would also resolve long-standing flooding problems in the area.
There was some concern by residents of the nearby Foxwood Condominium over the density of the project and the proposed height of the buildings. The Village Board determined that the proposed project was in keeping with the character of the neighborhood and would produce less traffic and activity than a commercial use for the property.
"Our goal in all of this is to create zoning that both respects the development patterns in Pleasantville and reflects a careful effort to assess the impacts on neighboring properties and on the community as a whole," said Mayor Peter Scherer. He said that other uses for the property that were considered included commercial use, as well as not-for-profit use, which would have removed the property from the tax roll.
"The kind of product that Toll has proposed in this project is believed by a lot of our local real estate agents to be in short supply and high demand. So those are happy bits of news for a community that needs to restore its tax base," Scherer said.
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