Mountco offers smaller footprint, same 900 new residences

Chester — The would-be developer of the former Camp LaGuardia property in Chester is offering a more flexible plan — but hasn't yet budged on the main sticking point: 900 new residences. Mountco President Joel Mounty and his chief design officer, Karl Meinhardt, is increasing the portion of senior housing to about 50 percent, and are open to adding veterans' housing. These compromises are expected to ease the school tax burden on local residents while addressing the need for housing among veterans and the elderly. The property is located within the Monroe-Woodbury School District. But local residents have long complained that the plan includes too many houses, and want to see the number significantly reduced. These kinds of "affordable housing" projects receive federal financing up to nearly 75 percent of building costs, as well as state tax credits and incentives. Mountco, which is based in Scarsdale, has built affordable housing projects from New York City to Ulster County. Mountco is seeking an agreement from Chester to make zoning more flexible. Of the 250 acres in the purchase agreement, only about 75 are buildable and are divided about equally between the towns of Blooming Grove and Chester. An additional 25 acres of wetlands can be used, but only for recreation. While Chester has pressed for senior citizen and veteran housing in its portion, Blooming Grove has asked for single-family houses and townhouses. Mountco is asking for zoning that will allow multiple uses and be common to both towns. Flexibility will help the developer in case the housing market changes. For example, Mounty said, units now planned as apartments could be built as town homes, or certain parcels converted to commercial space. The project, already two years behind schedule, would be phased in over five to ten years. With flexible zoning, the best uses for each section will be subject to change. But, Mounty said, "We know that affordable and workforce housing will work." His units in Ulster County were filled before they were even completed, he said, and those in New Rochelle have a 300- to 400-person waiting list. “Nothing succeeds like success," said Mounty. He is eager to start. He would begin in about 12 months with some of the senior units in an area just off Greycourt Road. While the unit count remains the same, the footprint would be somewhat less obvious than in earlier plans. Apartment buildings will be limited to four stories, and each building will house 65 to 70 people, rather than the 100 in earlier plans. Town of Chester Supervisor Steve Neuhaus said he'd like to see the development of more commercial property, which is becoming increasingly sparse in both towns. Plans call for a business strip, possibly doctors' offices, along the north side of Greycourt. The small stucco building on the south side by the Heritage Trail could be used as a community center and possibly rent inline skates or bicycles, Mounty said. Mounty said the project's environmental impact statement has been temporarily "shelved," but he believes it supports a project of this size. "There is nothing egregious in it that would prevent the project," he said. The current water tower is structurally unsound, he said. It would be replaced either by numerous water pumps, or a new tower. Any new tower would be disguised as a bell tower. The remaining buildings, which Neuhaus suggested could be used by the county for office space, are likely unusable, Mounty said. Perhaps the thorniest issues is getting sufficient sewer capacity for the project, which has been tied up in litigation and remains unresolved. The county owns the site and is eager to recoup the money it paid for the land. But the county's attempt to extend its sewer district to the site floundered after a legal challenge by Blooming Grove. "I will not buy a pig in a poke," Mounty said. But he quickly added: "The county has a responsibility to make this thing work."