Board OKs temporary Community Center location

The building on Route 117 in Bedford Hills where CCNW plans to temporarily relocate while construction takes place to expand its Katonah facility. A proposed banner is shown. COMMUNITY CENTER OF NORTHERN WESTCHESTER photo illustration:

By JEFF MORRIS 

The plan for a 23-lot subdivision at the former Bailey Hall site in Katonah returned to the planning board Monday, but the only actions taken were to schedule a site walk and a public hearing on the application. 

At the same meeting the board approved site plans for a temporary home for the Community Center of Northern Westchester.

Katonah subdivision

Now known as the Tripi subdivision, the plan for 22 new single-family homes between Harris Road and New Street, Katonah, previously came before the board in a workshop session July 22 designed to refamiliarize the board with the proposal.

The 25.59-acre property was once home to the Bailey Hall School, a vocational school for boys. 

The school closed in 1987 and was destroyed by fire in 2000.

An initial 2006 plan for a conventional subdivision was later changed to a 23-lot “conservation subdivision” with 21 new residences on a looped road, surrounding a community septic system. That plan would leave over 12 acres undisturbed, but it stalled in 2018 during negotiations with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection.

An agreement was reached with DEP, and the application has now returned to the planning board, which had already completed a draft environmental impact statement in 2011. Public hearings held in 2011 became quite contentious, with multiple neighbors objecting to the plan.

Planning board members, most of whom are not familiar with the proposal’s earlier iteration, are now scheduled to walk the site Friday, Sept. 27, at 8:15 a.m. The applicants agreed to also allow members of the public to visit the site at that time, though noting that parking is limited.

A public hearing was then scheduled for Monday, Oct. 28, which is on the calendar as the board’s only meeting in October.

Community Center of Northern Westchester

With the board having already granted final approval for plans to expand the Community Center of Northern Westchester’s existing building at 84 Bedford Road, Katonah, in April, CCNW now came before the board seeking site plan approval for a temporary location in Bedford Hills to be occupied while construction is taking place.

CCNW had long sought to expand its facility, but their ability to do so was limited by the fact the property was being leased to them by the town of Bedford on land owned by New York City DEP. 

After five years of negotiations, in 2023 the town was able to arrange for the parcel to be conveyed to it by DEP, and in turn to develop a long-term lease with CCNW, allowing the organization to proceed with expansion plans.

Those plans, which will more than double the size of the current building, will require extensive construction work and force CCNW to relocate for approximately 16 to 18 months. 

Attorney Geri Tortorella said the difficulties and challenges of attempting to operate in place once construction begins became obvious during discussions with contractors. She said they expect actual construction to last about 12 months, with logistical concerns leading to the need to be in the temporary space for several months before and after.

Tortorella said they had found available space at 693, 687 and 669 Bedford Road, Bedford Hills, and reached an agreement with the owner. That property is a former car dealership that has been vacant for a number of years, with the parking lot used primarily for vehicle storage; an image search on Google Street View shows the building has been unoccupied since at least 2013.

According to Tortorella, they plan to have donations, food pantry, clothing boutique, some ancillary related services, and administrative offices at the temporary location, but will not be doing any classes or other instructional activities or skills training there.

Hours are expected to remain the same as they are currently: Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thursday, from noon to 6 p.m.; and Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Richard Williams of Insite Engineering said they are planning to make minimal improvements to the property aside from signage and striping of the parking area. He said they are going to keep the existing curb cuts and avoid making any changes in the state Department of Transportation right-of-way on Route 117 that would require DOT approval, citing personal experience of having applications in to DOT “since last November” that have yet to be acted on. 

Tortorella said there will be a banner on the front of the building that complies with town sign regulations, as well as a sign in a window.

Board members all said they were fine with the plans, and unanimously agreed to grant both preliminary and final site plan approval. No timetable for the actual start of construction at the current 84 Bedford Road location, or when a move to the temporary site might occur, was given.