[chris08876]

Project: 22 South Wall Street

As city officials move closer to rezoning a blighted area next to the Mount Vernon West train station, plans for a 20-story mixed-use apartment building are coming into focus.

Macquesten Development of Pelham recently presented drawings to the Mount Vernon architectural review board for 22 S. West Street Tower, a $71 million project that blends low- to medium-income housing, market-rate housing and retail space.

“It’s a very cool glass and concrete structure with insets on both wings,” said Joseph Apicella, Macquesten’s managing director of development. “So as you are heading up and down Metro North, you will have tremendous views of this magnificent building.”

The proposed building fits the city’s plan to transform a scruffy industrial zone into a residential and retail district centered at a mass transit hub. The way to do that, Apicella said, is to attract a critical mass of people.

The company has taken the first step with The Modern, an 11-story, 81-unit building at 13 Mount Vernon Ave. aimed at people with workforce incomes. Rents will range from $1,000 to $2,000.

It is nearing completion and it already has a waiting list for tenants. People could be moving in by the end of the year, Apicella said.

Macquesten’s strategy for 22 S. West Street Tower is to blend workforce rates with market-rate rents. Most of the 205 apartments will go to people who make less than the area’s median household income. The rest will be leased to people with greater incomes, whose higher disposable incomes can support more retail activity. Nearly 5,000 square feet will be set aside for retail use.

Rents would range from about $1,000 to $3,000.

==========================
http://westfaironline.com/80520/macq...t-vernon-west/