Mountco considers limiting development to Chester

By Edie Johnson
CHESTER — If Mountco had to pick between Chester and Blooming Grove, they'd go with Chester.

Joel Mounty, president of Mountco Construction and Development Corp. of Scarsdale, said Chester has been more receptive to their plans.

In fact, said John Madeo, Mountco's executive vice president, the company has considered downsizing and restricting its development to Chester. The size of the project might still be renegotiated with the county, he said, depending on how much it wants for the property.

Mountco wants to build 316 residences in the Chester portion of the former Camp LaGuardia property, and 316 in the Blooming Grove portion, along with 40,000 square feet of commercial space in each town. The site is 258 acres and is located in the Monroe-Woodbury school district.

Blooming Grove made its zoning more apartment-friendly but would still require one variance for apartment buildings and still another for three-story buildings. Its planning board told Mountco last August that these variances might set a dangerous precedent.

Blooming Grove also successfully sued in 2010 to stop the county from extending sewer service to the site. In January, the county announced its renewed intention to expand service.

In the meantime, Mountco has added some parkland to its plans and reduced a four-story apartment building to three stories, Madeo said.

The property was left vacant nine years ago, when New York City closed the shelter it had long operated there. Orange County bought the property for $8.5 million in the hope, long dashed, of a quick turnaround. The sprawling complex of buildings on the site is deteriorated to the point of being hazardous.

Accommodations for veterans, seniors, workers

Madeo assured Chester officials that none of the units in Mountco's plans will receive federal subsidies for low-income tenants. One-third of the units will be reserved for "workforce housing," that is, meant for households with annual incomes ranging from $37,000 to $55,000. Rent would be $500 to $900 a month. Tenants would be entry-level teachers, public works employees, firefighters, and the like.

Another third of the units would be reserved for veterans, and the final third for senior citizens.

To alleviate fears over rising school taxes, three-bedroom units will be limited to 10 percent of either the senior citizen or workforce units.

Mountco would retain ownership of the property and hire a property manager.

Madeo said they want to begin a new environmental study based on the current, reduced scale of the project, rather than on the 907 housing units and 180,000 square feet of commercial space of their original proposal. The new study will take from nine months to a year to complete, he said.

The Chester town board will schedule another meeting with Mountco officials next month. Mountco will in the meantime give a similar update to the Blooming Grove town board.

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