After more than a year of changes, debate and more changes, developer Alex Troyanovsky won an approval from the village council Monday night on his plans to construct 98 residential units at a former industrial site.
The so-called Roos project will see 28 townhouses and 70 condo units erected at 7329 Harrison St., the former address of the Edward Roos Cedar Chest Company. For several years now the property has stood vacant while the village wrestled with development proposals criticized in large part for their density. Troyanovsky and his team of designers heard similar complaints about their proposal, and after cutting the number of units in half during the site plan review, said they had reached a financial tipping point.
Following Monday’s 4-1 vote to approve the site plan though, Troyanovsky said he is pleased with the final product and appreciates the diligence with which the village reviewed his plans.
“It’s been quite an experience working with the village,” Troyanovsky said.
For several months now the proposal has gone largely unaltered after undergoing three substantial revisions early on. The sticking point for several commissioners of late was a perceived parking shortage. Zoning codes required the condos and town homes to have two parking spaces per unit. The townhouses met this requirement, but prior to Monday’s council meeting only 80 parking spaces would have been deeded to condo residents. The developer agreed to install 24 hydraulic lift systems that would stack cars on top of one another. This brings the ratio of parking spaces to condo units to 1.48, and that satisfied commissioners.
Other recent changes to the plan include reducing the number of rental units from 50 percent to 30 percent, changing the use of roughly 2,200-square feet of commercial space into a common area for residents and a commitment to maintain the street parking along Harrison Street. These items were discussed by the council at its last meeting in May, and Mayor Anthony Calderone pointed out to commissioners that the developer has met their requests.
“It appears some compromising has been done by the developer,” Calderone said at the start of the discussion Monday.
Commissioner Martin Tellalian raised the only objections Monday, returning briefly to his concerns with the density of the project. In looking at the hydraulic lifts used to increase the amount of parking, Tellalian said the lifts appear cumbersome and would likely frustrate residents at the property.
“I really don’t think people are going to use the lifts,” Tellalian said.
His suggestion for bringing the number of parking spaces in line with the number of condos was to reduce the number of units on the property. Tellalian cast the lone vote against the project.
Troyanovsky said a groundbreaking ceremony would be held “soon,” though he couldn’t offer a specific date. In the meantime, the site will be cleaned up and the final permits to begin work will be obtained.
