Sneak preview of proposed development for downtown Chappaqua

See YouTube snippet of virtual flyover of downtown Chappaqua in “Read more”
September 26, 2008
by Christine Yeres

In an early work session last Tuesday night, the town board was taken on a virtual flyover of a “new” downtown Chappaqua reconfigured to a conceptual plan designed by Nick Pouder of Pouder Design Group. If you’d like a sneak peek of this plan that the town will reveal at Community Day, click on “flyover” and fasten your seatbelt. Photos inside.

Pouder, the landscape architect hired by New Castle to help develop the downtown area, has proposed sweeping changes, from its library-town hall-rec field civic corridor on South Greeley Avenue to the Rite Aid and Post Office, beyond which commercial use feathers off into residential.  See photos, below.

Computer-generated presentation wow’s town board

The presentation included close ups of Pizza Station, Bank of America and George’s Men’s Shop transformed, in sketches, by second floor additions sporting cupolas and dormered windows of various sizes. 

Through the clearinghouse of the ten-member Downtown Steering Committee, chaired by town board assistant supervisor Elise Mottel, engineers and design consultants have measured, surveyed and imagined a downtown that they believe will attract more people, provide parking for their cars, coax them from those cars and encourage them spend more time and money downtown before heading home. 

Board members and a handful of visitors to the work session viewed the presentation with rapt attention. Both before and after, Town Supervisor Barbara Gerrard emphasized the conceptual nature of the plan and the many hurdles that lay ahead. 

When the lights came up, Gerrard asked for comments from board members, some of whom had just seen the plan for the first time, all of whom looked very pleased with it.

Reaction to the conceptual plan by board members

Michael Wolfensohn praised the plan as a “pretty aggressive, wonderful,” and asked if Pouder could give the board a rough time frame in which the plan might be realized. Pouder estimated that the “streetscape” part of the plan – sidewalk improvement, trees and crosswalks – might take a couple of years. The more ambitious elements of the plan, such as a civic or arts center, would take several years after those initial streetscape developments. Wolfensohn cautioned that to implement the plan would require a “buy in” from businesses and the school board as well as the whole community.

The walkability of the plan impressed Robin Stout, who saw calmed traffic, outdoor places to gather with friends for an ice cream or coffee, and filled in gaps in retail frontage as all leading to a “synergy” that will improve the business climate overall.

John Buckley had particular praise for the roadway and crosswalk improvements “for the health and safety of residents,” and for the park proposed for town hall’s front lawn, both as a community resource in a great location, and as an improvement to the appearance of town hall.

Downtown steering committee chair Mottel commented: “I’ve been living with this [plan] since Nick brought it to the committee. Now we need to be realistic and see what can be accomplished.  Some parts might be phased in; we’ll work with Nick to coordinate that.”  Referring to the forerunners of the plan, she concluded, “this plan implements the ideas from both [the] Vollmer report and Project for Public Spaces. We see this as a chance to really revitalize our downtown.”

No dollar amounts have yet been attached to any aspect of the conceptual plan. Parts of it might be accomplished through tax revenues. Some suggestions – such as the second story additions—are for property owner or landlords to undertake. A more radical suggestion—such as the development of an arts or civic center at the Shell station – might be undertaken in partnership with a developer. Pouder expects to work up technical drawings by December and begin to attach costs to various elements.

Tell the town board what you think

Now that the conceptual plan – Gerrard called it “a vision”—has been previewed by the town board, the next step is to shop it around to the greater community and invite comment.  The plan will be unveiled this Saturday at New Castle’s Community Day at the train station.  Members of the town board and the Downtown Steering Committee, as well as Pouder’s design team, will be on hand to hear residents’ thoughts and reactions. And there’s plenty to think about.  See photos, below:

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A brief description of the changes the plan proposes

Starting with Town Hall, working north:

Transform the town hall’s front lawn into a park.

Make the intersection of Washington Street and South Greeley Avenue (across from the library) more pedestrian friendly, with crosswalks not just painted, but in another material and the addition of “bump outs” that narrow the intersection and calm traffic.

Of the two bus stops at that intersection (one for northbound, one for southbound buses), make a single bus stop at the train station itself, a logical place from which to continue a journey by public transportation.

Broaden South Greeley Avenue between the rec field and Bell’s front yard field so that cars can park on both sides of the street; replace chain link fence along Bell’s field with decorative iron fence. 

Provide walkways from the town rec field to the train station that cut a clear and direct path for pedestrians through the train station parking lot’s semi-circular aisles.

Line South Greeley Avenue with trees along the rec field.

Move the gazebo from its position below-grade to at-grade, and bring it closer to Greeley Avenue and Woodburn Avenue (the road into the train station).

Restore the suppressed watercourse that crosses under South Greeley Avenue between Bell and the Shell station and make it instead a feature of the site. 

Purchase the Shell gas station property and construct a town civic center or performing arts center, making use of the empty commuter lots for evening parking. One of the more radical concepts, this may require public or private partnerships with a developer.

Add a second story to the building that houses Pizza Station, Dunkin Donuts and Citibank, a project to be undertaken by property owners.

Add a second floor to Bank of America, a project to be undertaken by property owners.

Eliminate the two parking spots on South Greeley along the triangle, which will permit a broader sidewalk for the stores on the east side of the street. Line both sides of the street with trees; divide the roadway with a green median.

Add a second story to George’s Men’s Shop at the Starbucks intersection, a project to be undertaken by property owners.

Add bump outs to the Starbucks intersection at Lower King Street and Greeley Avenue.  Eliminate the right-turning slip lane and island. Replace them with a dedicated right turn lane and stop sign. Place a stop sign at the bottom of King Street, thereby eliminating the priority that vehicles have coming down King Street have for going through the intersection while north and southbound traffic on Greeley Avenue wait indefinitely. Make crosswalks of different material than road bed.

Make roadway surface of lower King Street (between Starbucks and Village Market) of material other than asphalt. Consider making the entire street into an open pedestrian mall on Saturdays or Sundays by closing the street to cars.

Make the end of the road area between The Village Market and Petticoat Lane (Allen Place) an inviting open pedestrian and park space. Right now it is parking spots and no-parking stripes.

“Infill” potential

“Infill” describes the addition of retail shops along a streetscape, very likely in partnership with a developer.  The idea is to eliminate long barren walks between islands of retail that send people back to their cars and perhaps headed out of town.  Two areas marked as having infill potential are the parking lot across from Susan Lawrence and the Rite Aid parking lot.

What portion of the parking lot across from Susan Lawrence is owned by the town has been hard to figure. But the fact that New Castle owns a significant portion of it has given impetus to the idea of acquiring some additional rights to property there to build a string of shops along the street with a parking structure behind that would connect to King Street at its back at a higher elevation. 

The plan imagines retail shops along the street in front of the Rite Aid parking lot, maintaining the parking behind and connecting to the parking behind Susan Lawrence. 

Lastly, as far north as the plan stretched, is the strip of land bordered by the railroad tracks. Just past Rite Aid sits a cinderblock garage and, past that, the former French restaurant, Maxim’s, empty for several years. This strip is marked on the conceptual plan as “Potential Development.”