Rivertowns Square Defends FEIS

Marty Berger, a managing member for Saber Real Estate Advisors, says that the Rivertowns Preservation Civic Association needs to get their facts straight about the developer's proposed project Rivertowns Square and its recent submission of the final environmental impact statement (FEIS). 

“It’s [the association’s recent comments, found here] a total distortion of reality,” said Berger. “It’s one thing to disagree, but we should at least get all of our facts right.” 

Saber Real Estate, in conjunction with Dobbs Ferry Capital Partners and Lincoln Dobbs Ferry, wants to build a multi-use development on the 17.7-acre 4-parcel site off the Saw Mill River Parkway that is in the middle of Lawrence Street and Ogden, Livingstone and Stanley avenues, which would include:

• a 18,000 sq. ft. market
• a 123-room hotel
• a 33,600 sq. ft. eight screen Sundance movie theatre
• 62,028 sq. ft. of retail/restaurant space
• a 202-unit rental apartment (which includes 10 percent of affordable housing, per Village code)
• 1,228 parking spaces

The Rivertowns Preservation Civic Association—a community organization that has advocated for and against various local projects, like Mercy College’s proposed addition and the Ashford Avenue Bridge—opposes the project saying it is too massive, will cause overwhelming traffic and exacerbate storm water issues amongst other concerns.

Berger argues that the FEIS is thorough and complete, and has been deemed so by the development’s consultants, the Village’s consultants, as well as Village’s staff and the Dobbs Ferry Board of Trustees. He says that many days and many hours were spent making sure every question was answered in addition to triple checking the document.

“I would think that all of these professionals, who do this for a living, and spent so much time and effort on this did a really very accurate and thorough job,” said Berger.

Berger says that the project is appropriate for the property and exactly conforms to the Chauncey Park Zoning District’s regulations, which is where the property is located.

The purpose of Chauncey Park Zoning district—according to the Village’s Zoning Code, which was amended in June 2011—is to “facilitate redevelopment opportunities in the are of the Village bordering the Saw Mill River Parking immediately north and South of Lawrence Street,” an area which is “particularly appropriate for larger scale redevelopment as a mixed use center with substantial employment and mid to high density residential opportunities.”

The zoning district also offers density bonuses in exchange for amenities, which Rivertowns Square is offering like a shuttle system to the Dobbs Ferry downtown and train station. For more on the Chauncey Zoning District click on page 90 of the PDF.

While the Rivertowns Preservation Civic Association criticized Rivertowns Square for failing to substantially scale back their proposal in its FEIS, Berger said that it has made an effort to do so.

Berger also outlined the following project modifications:

• 226 residential units were reduced to 202 units (10 percent of them being affordable, per village code)
• a 70,000 sq. ft. supermarket was reduced to an 18,000 sq. ft. gourmet market (which Berger says will generate “a very different type of traffic”)
• buildings were pushed back off the Saw Mill River Parkway by 17 ft. to create more open space and plantings
• A reduction in disturbance of land from 5 acres to 4.3 acres
• the addition of one green space park and upgrading of a second park to make it larger

The FEIS also increases restaurant space by 1,578 sq. ft., adds 16 hotels rooms and 16 parking spaces and cuts back on construction time. See table 2.2 in the FEIS for details.

“You can scale a project down by mitigation and changing the type of use as an alternative to ‘making a project’ smaller,” said Berger. “When you make it smaller you reduce the amount of revenue that goes to the village and the amenities that go to the residents go down.”

Check back with Patch for more on this story, and see the following websites for more information:

• http://rivertowns.patch.com/topics/rivertowns+square
• dobbsferry.com/Rivertowns-Square
• http://rivertownssquare.net
• http://rivertownspreservation.org

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