Question about Pelham (New Rochelle, Rye, Scarsdale: houses, neighborhoods, middle school)
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We went to drive around Pelham and Larchmont to get a feel for the towns (hard to do during a pandemic, but so it goes).
We thought they were both lovely towns, but we did notice that Pelham does not have as fleshed out a downtown shopping/dining area as Larchmont. And it appeared that the restaurants/coffee shops/stores that we saw did not seem as "high-end". We were wondering why that would be. Pelham appears to be in a very prime location—so close to the city—and with a well-to-do population that would likely spend the money to support businesses, and good schools, it would seem like a prime candidate for having a really nice downtown. Any information on this?
(* preemptively apologizing if I offended any Pelham residents, it is a very beautiful town regardless)
As far as downtowns are concerned, if you're looking for more of an upscale feel, check out Rye, Scarsdale (Village), Bronxville and Armonk. Most of the towns I mentioned are filled with high-end shops, great restaurants and just and an overall good feel and vibe.
I'm not a local, so this reply could be inaccurate. It seems that the Town of Pelham includes two incorporated villages dating to the 1890's, therefore with considerable zoning powers. I suspect that part of the Town lies outside the two villages, namely the shopping center that includes Panera's. Towns want income (from shopping centers), but the shopping center that straddles Westchester and The Bronx there does not add to the appearance and desirability of living in a classy neighborhood. The two village boards and one town board have been around for 130 years and perhaps have long determined that people could shop in New Rochelle (when it had Lord and Taylor's) or (in the present) west of the Hutchinson Parkway at Garden Avenue or near Panera's. Town and village boards set the tone, and apparently all three Pelhams have restricted restaurants and small stores. It's the choice of the politicians in those roles over the decades.
This is the one real negative of Pelham. I live there.
That being said there has been an acceleration in the push to develop Wolf's Lane. My guess is that it will look materially different in 2-3 years. Most residents can walk to the downtown area. There are a handful of good restuarants in town, and prior to CV19, they did good business. The demand is there.
It is a beautiful town though. I would say that Pelham Heights and certain sections of Pelham Manor have the most pictureseque streets in all of Westchester
Downtown Pelham is surprisingly disappointing given its demographics and location. I've always seen it as a huge missed opportunity, but they've been saying for 20 years it's going to improve. Otherwise a wonderful town.
The "downtown" section of Pelham is in the Village of Pelham and locals are very supportive of the mom-and-pop shops there. In my opinion, the town needs to spruce up the entire Fifth Avenue strip by offering incentives for the businesses to coordinate the look of the stores and the buildings there. Pelham is a "fancy" town in that a lot of wealthy people live here, but there is also proximity to Mt. Vernon and New Rochelle that makes having big-box stores undesirable.
Pelham Manor has big-box stores in the non-residential area that borders Mt. Vernon and The Bronx (Fairway, HomeGoods, Modell's) most of which are now likely to close for good. That area is "across the Hutch border" and therefore not a downtown kind of area and many don't even realize they're in Pelham anymore, but serves its purpose for the town as a whole. Pelham is difficult to compare to Larchmont for that reason. The only real comparison is the houses - which are generally nicer in Pelham, in my opinion; and proximity to the city - and that's not much of a comparison because, for people like me, those 10 minutes on the train are golden. I can't even stay awake all the way to Larchmont.
I suspect that part of the Town lies outside the two villages, namely the shopping center that includes Panera's. Towns want income (from shopping centers), but the shopping center that straddles Westchester and The Bronx there does not add to the appearance and desirability of living in a classy neighborhood.
--That area is part of the Village of Pelham Manor. Pelham is one town with 2 villages and each village has some named-neighborhoods. Fifth Avenue in The Village of Pelham is the "downtown" area of Pelham. It definitely needs sprucing up, but those old stores give the town a very "old town" vibe that attracts artsy types to the Village above the Manor.
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