Officials approved a special permit that will allow the Alexander Development Group and partner, the Bluestone Organization, to soon start renovating the retail building and parking garage into a 249-unit apartment complex complete with approximately 15,000-square-feet of commercial space near the Metro-North station.
The City Council also announced that the project “would not have a significant adverse environmental impact on the surrounding neighborhood,” something many Fleetwood residents had argued.
The project has proven to be a divisive issue in Mount Vernon, with some locals encouraged by the socioeconomic benefits of the upscale project, while others have argued that the towering building will change the culture and feel of the upcoming neighborhood.
“Fleetwood is a residential neighborhood, we don’t need 10,000-square-feet of stores. We have other parts of Mount Vernon for that,” Fleetwood resident Shirley Jackson said on Monday. “(Fleetwood) is on the rise. This is a step back.”
With one hurdle cleared in the City Council, the project now needs the approval by the city’s Planning Board and Architectural Review Board, something longtime Mount Vernon resident Mark Abbott said he hoped happens.
“There’s greatness in this city, and this is just the beginning of trying to harness that potential,” he said outside City Hall Tuesday. “Mount Vernon’s train stations are a perfect place to start rebuilding and developing the city.”
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