Broadway’s emptiest lot gets six proposals

Mid-Broadway Redevelopment Opportunity

In response to the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) issued by the City of Newburgh April 19, 2011, six developers submitted proposals and background information about their previous projects.  A committee was formed in May to review the proposals after the deadline of May 20, 2011 passed.  According to the original RFQ, review of the letters of interest and a short list would be complete in two to four weeks, with a schedule and interview two weeks after that.  While the proposals did not appear as a tentative agenda item for tomorrow night’s meeting on the city’s site, that agenda is subject to change.

In an earlier post here, I pointed out that environmental concerns were raised in the city’s RFQ.  None of the responding developers addressed this issue.

Below are very short summaries of the proposals.  Submissions ranged from 2 pages to a 1 inch thick binder.

1. Hudson Valley Property Group, LLC. (New City) with L & M Development Partners, Inc. (New York City)

Download submission excerpts

HVPG Co-Managing Member is Andrew Cavaluzzi, who is currently working on the 91-95 Broadway project.
Proposal: No specifics mentioned, apart from a Concept Site Plan sketch (see page 9) that shows a retail facade on Broadway, building setbacks, and a courtyard.  Residential units can be inferred from the descriptions of past projects.

2. Newburgh Commercial Development Corporation, Inc. (Newburgh)

Download submission excerpts

Vincent Cappelletti is President of NCDC and has redeveloped 600 Broadway and done extensive work on 280/290 Broadway.
Proposal: Construct “23,000 sq ft of retail to include space for an urban supermarket with a second floor to accommodate possibly a trade school, medical offices, or office space.”

3. Walison Corp. (Bronx)

Download submission excerpts

Proposal: Phase 1: “Development of a two-story commercial building fronting Broadway that will house a supermarket and a smaller retail establishment on the ground floor.  A community facility on the second floor will provide professional office space to medical and healthcare providers… Walison Corp. is interested in constructing a 40,000 SF 2-story Commercial Building fronting Broadway on 14 of the 16 City owned lots between Johnston and Lander Street.  1st floor: 15,000 SF Supermarket, plus 5,000 SF retail space.  2nd floor: 20,000 SF Community Facility featuring Medical Professional office space.”

4. M.A. Development LLC.  (Carmel, NY)

Download submission excerpts

Proposal: “A. Residential/Retail (SuperMarket)… 20,000 s.f. (estimated) supermarket and approximately 130 market rate condominiums on Broadway of six stories which will include studios and one through three bedroom units… B. Parking Facility… This will be a six story facility with approximately 600 parking spaces… C. Community Center… In cooperation with the City of Newburgh we will determine the size, scope and contents of the center, to facilitate its possible uses, i.e. gym facility, senior citizen use… D. Center of Excellence… This will be a 100,000 s.f. (approx.), six floor professional building housing among others, a dental laboratory/CadCam Technology Center, a Dialysis Facility, a Clinical Cardiovascular Therapeutic area and an Institute for clinical Training of Dentists and Staff.”

5. Poko Partners LLC (Port Chester NY)  with The Kretchmer Companies, LLC (New York City)

Download submission excerpts

Proposal: “1. Townhouses on Johnston Street: We would recommend a three-story building type that places 2-story townhouse over 1-story flat units at the ground level along Johnston Street…  2. Mixed Use Retail Residential on Broadway.  Along Broadway, we propose a five-story mixed use building with retail at grade along Broadway and multifamily apartments above.  Parking under the building… would allow for four stories of housing above, which provides an increase in density without overwhelming the adjacent 4 story built fabric… 3. Site #2 Parking.  The lot on Lander Street would best be maintained as additional parking for the Broadway retail and residential…”

6. Mill Street Partners, LLC (New York City) with RECAP (Middletown) and CPC Resources, Inc. (New York City)

download submission excerpts part 1 download submission excerpts part 2

Proposal: Phase 1: Broadway parcel – mixed-use development consisting of 18,000SF of first floor retail with residential rental units on the upper floors.  5 story or 6 story options.  Also 18,000SF full-service supermarket on the first floor.  Phase 2: Johnston St. parcel – 13 two family home ownership sites.
Project references include: John Ebert, Orange County Office of Community Development, for CPC; Congressman Maurice Hinchey and State Senator William Larkin for RECAP, Inc.

Developers warned of environmental concerns

The Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is out today, published on the city’s website, for the “Mid-Broadway Redevelopment Opportunity.” The property in question was formerly owned by Robert Carchietta and sits on the block bordered by Broadway, Johnston and Lander Streets.

The RFQ is 16 pages long and includes an overview of Newburgh and key “advantages” to the site including proximity to the waterfront, SUNY Orange, St. Luke’s Hospital, Mount Saint Mary College, and others.  It concludes with the submission requirements on page 13:

Submission Requirements
A two-to-four page summary cover letter briefly summarizing all of the following items is required. You may attach additional information as you deem appropriate. Site plans and detailed financial pro formas are not required at this time.
A. Development team description/resources.
B. Financial Strength and Responsibility
C. Team experience:
Previous projects:
Project name, location, photos, construction value, year, team member’s role in project.
Project references (minimum 2 from financial institu- tions and 2 from clients).
Key team member resumes.
D. Proposed project concept and schedule
Public/private partnership approach
Design concepts, users, developer’s approach and phasing. Financing, funding, marketing and roles of public and private sectors.

Then, almost as an afterthought, on page 15 potential developers are warned of this:

Edward Lynch new Director of Planning & Development

The City of Newburgh issued a press release this morning announcing the appointment of Edward Lynch as the new Director of Planning and Development.  He will be taking over the post from Courtney Kain, who had served as Acting Director.

According to the press release (download here from the City of Newburgh site), Mr. Lynch comes to Newburgh after spending sixteen years with the Department of Development in New Rochelle, NY.

In New Rochelle, Lynch served under the Development Commissioner Craig King.  When the Development Commissioner position opened up following Mr. King’s leaving due to health reasons, and Mr. Lynch was not selected for the position, he tendered his resignation earlier this year.

Newburgh’s press release attributes New Rochelle’s development successes to Mr. Lynch:

The City has radically changed since then with mixed use transit oriented development downtown, including a 40 story Trump Condominium and a 1000 unit Avalon Bay residential development, a mixed use family entertainment center and significantly more commercial development. As Planning Director and Clerk to the Planning Board, Mr. Lynch obviously had a role in making a positive change.

But New Rochelle’s developments, attributed to Lynch or not, may not all be so rosy.

Trump Tower project lacks lessees; OSC audit critical

Talk of the Sound, a New Rochelle blog, reported on June 21 about a New York State Comptroller audit of the New Rochelle Industrial Development Agency due to be published this month.  The OSC audit portrays a lack of oversight.  Additionally, Talk of the Sound reports that in the case of the Trump Tower, developer Louis Capelli has failed to rent retail space:

The report goes on to state that NRIDA did not monitor the status of ongoing projects to ensure reasonable progress toward the projected benefits described in the original applications so the board cannot be sure the projects will meet their intended goals, or know when they should invoke “recapture” agreements to recover some or all of the benefits provided when projects fall short of their promised goals.

The Capelli organization is on the NRIDA agenda tomorrow, in part to seek extensions on its recapture agreement for Trump Tower which expired in December. A recapture agreement is a clause which allows the City to claim money if a project fails to meet some promise, in this case to lease the retail space at Trump Tower.

The Comptroller warns that when NRIDA officials do not properly monitor ongoing projects and invoke recapture agreements, as appropriate, there is an increased risk that other taxpayers are subsidizing the projects’ financial incentives without receiving the expected benefits to the community. This is precisely what has been occurring since 2009 with Trump Tower.

Read the full post here.

Trump Tower didn’t do much for jobs

Talk of the Sound also reports that the Trump Tower project, according to the Office of the State Comptroller, failed to create the jobs it promised:

The report notes that NRIDA projects have, overall, failed to provide promised job gains for New Rochelle. In particular, Parcel 1A (Trump Tower) was supposed to deliver 358 jobs but has, as of December 31, 2008, delivered just 98 for a net deficit of 260.

Newburgh: New Rochelle North?

Mr. Lynch is not the first New Rochelle expatriate to join the City of Newburgh.  Current Corporation Counsel Bernis Nelson served as New Rochelle Corporation Counsel for twelve years (then under the name Bernis Shapiro.)