[chris08876]

Project: 406 Boston Post Road



12 Megapixel Rendering: http://westfaironline.com/wp-content...1e_Plaza-1.jpg

The $300 million mixed-use development proposed by Starwood Capital Group of Greenwich on the former site of United Hospital is expected to give Port Chester’s economy a boost, and Joan Grangenois-Thomas wants to make sure village residents get their share.

Grangenois-Thomas is a member of Sustainable Port Chester Alliance, a coalition of residents and civic, community and labor organizations created in response to the plans submitted to the village board.

The 20-member organization that includes leaders from Human Development Services of Westchester, Communication Workers of America Local 1103, Port Chester/Rye NAACP and Building and Construction Trades Council of Westchester and Putnam counties, is seeking a Community Benefits Agreement that would ensure the village gets a fair shot at project-related construction jobs, housing and funding for its schools.

The alliance is seeking guarantees from Starwood that subcontractors would hire locally, that village schools not be shortchanged via tax abatements and traffic concerns be addressed. The Community Benefits Agreement would need to be signed by both sides.

Starwood’s project calls for a 135-room hotel, 217,000 square feet of medical office space, 90,000 square feet of boutique shops and restaurants, 500 residential units for young professionals, 230 55-and-over age-restricted housing units and nearly an acre of public open space on the 15-acre former site of United Hospital at 406 Boston Post Road, which closed in 2005. Starwood Capital Group purchased the property for $28 million in 2006.

Another provision Grangeonis-Thomas wants to see included in the Community Benefits Agreement is the guarantee that the 134 units of affordable workforce housing at 999 High St. would be replaced, if not increased. The rental building that houses former hospital workers is at risk of demolition should the project be approved, and the group is calling for 20 percent of new housing to be affordable units. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2018.

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http://westfaironline.com/77059/grou...r-development/