Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I remember them talking about this a few years back too. I think the problem was that they didn't think they'd get enough ridership to support it. Would be cool, but it would really only be handy for downtown location-to-downtown location trips and I'm not sure how many there are of those...lots of people coming off the train to work in WP already walk or get a private shuttle. But if they keep putting up apartments in downtown, then maybe ridership can reach that critical mass.
A lot of the new condos and luxury rentals offer private shuttle service to the Metro-North, so there's clearly at least some demand for a car-free commute between downtown WP and the city.
I guess the question is whether there's enough additional demand to make a municipal trolley worthwhile. I think there's potential for an "if you build it, they will come" situation in the inner part of the Highlands, particularly with the co-ops around Bryant. That area already has a solid core of pedestrian retail and dining, and a lot of those co-ops are beautiful prewar buildings that would be attractive to city commuters if they didn't have to deal with parking hassles.
Good to hear that the redevelopment of the Pavilion is moving forward. What I'm really hoping that will do is boost pedestrian traffic enough to fill in the nearby storefronts, some of which have been sitting empty for several years at this point.
A lot of the new condos and luxury rentals offer private shuttle service to the Metro-North, so there's clearly at least some demand for a car-free commute between downtown WP and the city.
I guess the question is whether there's enough additional demand to make a municipal trolley worthwhile. I think there's potential for an "if you build it, they will come" situation in the inner part of the Highlands, particularly with the co-ops around Bryant. That area already has a solid core of pedestrian retail and dining, and a lot of those co-ops are beautiful prewar buildings that would be attractive to city commuters if they didn't have to deal with parking hassles.
Good to hear that the redevelopment of the Pavilion is moving forward. What I'm really hoping that will do is boost pedestrian traffic enough to fill in the nearby storefronts, some of which have been sitting empty for several years at this point.
Good point re the Coops on Bryant.
Yeah, the vacancies on Post Rd are out of control. Mamaroneck Ave has a bunch too, but seems to be filing up a bit. You would think that lots of vacancies would drive down rents, which would make filling stores easier, but this doesn't seem to be whats happening in WP. I don't have hard facts, but my impression is that rents are still pricey. Seems like some property owners are leaving stores empty in anticipation of redevelopment (like at the bottom of Post Rd where Frozen Ropes and the Kosher Deli used to be), and most of the others are owned by the same few companies which are big enough to take the loss on some properties in order to keep rents higher on the others. I don't remember the details, but I think I read somewhere that there are like 3 companies that own almost all of the small store fronts in Downtown WP.
Looks like details about the Scholz property will be coming out Monday. Should be interesting... anything will be better than that empty lot. New Esplanade proposal too. Seems like WP is seeing a second major development boom.
Yes, it is unusual that the "Frozen Ropes building" on Broadway/Post Road slowly emptied, store by store, as if there were no new takers for any of the empty units. I worked in an office building across the street and watched the emptying process in this and the adjacent stores over an extended period of time. One is indeed tempted to speculate that this portion of the city is, in effect, being emptied primarily to make way for larger projects. The surrounding neighborhood now attracts less and less pedestrian traffic and commercial activity to the remaining stores with each closing making a subsequent closing more likely. It would also seem that the nature and size of the new proposed building at the Pavilion location, in isolation a questionable project, makes much more sense if the immediate neighborhood is scheduled for a similar level of development. It will be interesting to see what the proposal will be for the Esplanade later today. In its current form the former hotel could seem to be out of place in a new area of upscale residential development.
Surprise! The Esplanade is now planning to "reinvent itself" as an apartment house and go high class (see 12/2/2015 White Plains CitizeNetReporter). How fortunate that the city just built a brand new parking structure next store. The old parking structure that was falling apart used to contain spaces that were specifically set aside for hotel guests. I didn't see any proposed new parking spaces mentioned in the Esplanade "reinvention plan", only apartments, stores, and office space. So maybe the brand new city garage could be used by the brand new apartment dwellers. It's a nice garage, quite a selling point.
So now, the announced new "Pavilion" plan makes somewhat more sense, the front will no longer face a somewhat rundown elder care facility. But things are still not right. There are still all those empty store fronts on Post Road right in the developments' s front yard.
I don't understand all the plans for more retail around the city when there are already so many empty storefronts around. I personally would have liked to see a large public park built on the parcel between Post and Maple. There is nothing like that on that side of town.
It seems like the street-side pictures are the Post Rd side and the parking lot pictures are set back from the Maple Ave side. I'm onboard and think this has a lot of potential. And the "fitness mall" concept sounds like it could actually work...if you can get pass the somewhat cheesey description. Not all retail space is created equal... Size/parking/zoning/strategy wise the store fronts downtown couldn't accommodate this sort of thing. For example...I think it would be hard to convince folks from the WP suburbs/Scarsdale/Harsdale/Eastchester to drive in to downtown and park in the Maple/Chester lot to take a spin class on Mamaroneck Ave...whereas this could actually be the prime location around for that sort of thing.
IMHO the downtown spots are actually better suited for restaurants/bars then any new construction that is going to be built....for whatever reason stripmall restaurants bug me. 90% restaurants/bars/takeout/banks on Mamaroneck Ave and surrounding with all other retail in newer/better suited sites around the periphery of downtown makes a lot of sense to me and seems like the direction things are taking.
Surprise! The Esplanade is now planning to "reinvent itself" as an apartment house and go high class (see 12/2/2015 White Plains CitizeNetReporter). How fortunate that the city just built a brand new parking structure next store. The old parking structure that was falling apart used to contain spaces that were specifically set aside for hotel guests. I didn't see any proposed new parking spaces mentioned in the Esplanade "reinvention plan", only apartments, stores, and office space. So maybe the brand new city garage could be used by the brand new apartment dwellers. It's a nice garage, quite a selling point.
Yup. I think that garage was a win-win though...the Esplanade will benefit (as they should...they owned the land) but the city got some much needed capacity in that area.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thomas Kaplan
So now, the announced new "Pavilion" plan makes somewhat more sense, the front will no longer face a somewhat rundown elder care facility. But things are still not right. There are still all those empty store fronts on Post Road right in the developments' s front yard.
What will be announced next? Place your bets.
Factor in those 2 buildings that were built on Maple and the development and parking lot proposed over by the WP Diner and that whole area is being overhauled. It's pretty crazy. Am I naïve to think the more the better with these high end 1/2 bedroom apartments? Seems like they add density that will allow downtown to become more of a real city, along with extra property and sales tax, while not overloading the schools. And the city services that they do utilize seem mostly like fixed costs that WP would incur anyway. I'm feeling good about my decision to buy in WP. Lots of people, putting in lots of money. I think it's 10 years away from being a very unique place.
It seems like the street-side pictures are the Post Rd side and the parking lot pictures are set back from the Maple Ave side. I'm onboard and think this has a lot of potential. And the "fitness mall" concept sounds like it could actually work...if you can get pass the somewhat cheesey description. Not all retail space is created equal... Size/parking/zoning/strategy wise the store fronts downtown couldn't accommodate this sort of thing. For example...I think it would be hard to convince folks from the WP suburbs/Scarsdale/Harsdale/Eastchester to drive in to downtown and park in the Maple/Chester lot to take a spin class on Mamaroneck Ave...whereas this could actually be the prime location around for that sort of thing.
IMHO the downtown/street front spots are actually better suited for restaurants/bars then any new construction that is going to be built....for whatever reason stripmall restaurants bug me. 90% restaurants/bars/takeout/banks on Mamaroneck Ave and surrounding with all other retail in newer/better suited sites around the periphery of downtown makes a lot of sense to me and seems like the direction things are taking.
Maybe, but I still would have preferred a nice park in that spot. They could also do things to make the walking areas (downtown) more retail-friendly, such as relax the parking regulations for instance. The parking situation in WP is brutal. I know the city makes a lot of money from it, but in return we have all the empty storefronts. I know a lot of people from around the area avoid shopping there because of the scarcity, and price of parking. (There's actually a recent thread on here about this topic too).
The townhouses are an interesting idea though.
Last edited by hominamad; 12-03-2015 at 10:01 AM..
I just quickly browsed through the proposal. It looks almost like a mini Ridge Hill.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
