Jul. 2, 2014:  Noting that the Kensington Road condominium project has been "30 years in the making," Bronxville Mayor Mary Marvin welcomed residents and representatives from the project developer, Fareri and Associates, to a public meeting on June 24 to address aspects of the project.

In addition to parking issues, residents expressed concerns about noise, construction traffic routes, vibration, and dust pollution during the construction, scheduled to begin July 7.

Initial construction activity on the former coal-fired Lawrence Park Heat, Light and Power plant site will involve excavating the site to build a 300-space parking garage. Approximately 20,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil, 10,000 cubic yards of uncontaminated soil, and 10,000 cubic yards of rock will be removed.

Engineer and environmental consultant Kevin McManus stated that the developer has been approved to gain access into the New York State Brownfield Cleanup Program to remediate the site. All work will be performed under the supervision of Galli Engineering, a third-party firm, which will install equipment downwind of the construction site to monitor and track dust particles at all times during the cleanup.

If, at any time, dust particulates reach the maximum allowable level, an alarm will signal that work must stop until particulates are reduced to an acceptable level. "There is very clearly a program in place that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation will be reviewing and approving" for proper execution, McManus said.

Jim Carnicelli, development manager, said that residents can expect to see contaminated materials moving off the site beginning in late July or early August with that process lasting for about two months. He anticipates that eight to ten trucks will make up to three trips per day to haul contaminated materials to a licensed landfill.

In a change to the original construction management plan, truck traffic will be directed south on Kraft Avenue rather than north on Sagamore Road. Bronxville Police Chief Christopher Satriale stated that he, village engineer Vincent Pici, and department of public works Superintendent Rocco Circosta were not comfortable with Sagamore Road as a truck route for the Kensington Road project and decided not to permit its use.

The developer proposes to blast the construction site to remove rock rather than chip it mechanically. "We believe very strongly that the offsite impact associated with controlled blasts over a very short period of time is a much safer way to go, will be a lot less noisy, and take a lot less time," Carnicelli said.

McManus described the noise produced by blasting as "thumps" rather than "gigantic booms." He emphasized that the developer will be limited to the work hours set by the village. "We're trying to come up with the most efficient way to get the noisiest work done as quickly as possible," he said.

McManus explained that the entire site will be excavated as support for the four-story condominium building and the concrete parking garage. "It is a very defined area, and once that work area is excavated, the rock is removed, and the foundation goes up, activities will be home construction. Once we're out of the ground, things go very quickly," he said.

The two-year construction of the Kensington Road condominium development, phase by phase, is anticipated to take ten weeks for soil removal, eight weeks for rock removal, six months to construct the parking garage, and a year for condominium construction.

Mayor Marvin stated that the village will post a page on its website dedicated to the Kensington Road project where residents will be notified of activity planned on the site for the coming week.

Pictured here: Deputy Mayor Robert Underhill discussing the project with residents.

Photo by Carol P. Bartold