By Carol P. Bartold

Dec. 16, 2015: Concerned citizens "did the math" when the original development plan for Quarry Place in Tuckahoe called for 140 new rental units in the village, many of them two- and three-bedroom apartments.

"Originally there were going to be 20 three-bedroom units and 60 two-bedroom units," said Tuckahoe resident Joe Pregiato. "That means there would have been 100 extra bedrooms."

Pregiato said that people were concerned not so much with the number of units but with the potential that the 100 extra bedrooms would bring an influx of children larger than the Tuckahoe Union Free School District could handle. "Odds are very slim that one-bedroom units are going to add many kids to the school system," he noted, as that bedroom would be for the use of the primary renter.

Pregiato explained that students from the Bronxville Manor section of Eastchester as well as Chester Heights attend Tuckahoe schools. "People outside the Village of Tuckahoe should have a say when a project begins to encroach into the school district," he said.

Statistical studies presented at village meetings calculated that the 140-unit project would generate nine to 16 new students in the Tuckahoe schools. Pregiato said that once he questioned exactly whom the extra 100 bedrooms would house, people began to think about the impact of the development plan and packed village meetings to question it.

Pregiato stated that, at one meeting, the builders commented on how well informed the citizenry was. "A lot of people spoke," Pregiato said, "and what they said made a lot of sense."

In addition to the issue of impact on the school district, Pregiato said, the 140-unit plan did not comply with the village's master plan for mixed use. "When you have that many units and one or two little storefronts that are about fifteen feet wide, it's pushing the limits of what mixed use is."

In the end, a compromise was achieved. Currently under construction, Quarry Place will have 108 rather than 140 units. All of the three-bedroom units were eliminated from the plan. The project will have 61 one-bedroom and 47 two-bedroom apartments.

"There is compromise in everything," Pregiato noted, "and I think this is a big compromise that will end up being good for the Village of Tuckahoe." He added that a number of citizens did their due diligence. "This is a real example of how the entire community came together."

Still to be determined, Pregiato said, is the amount of property tax revenue that Quarry Place will bring to Tuckahoe. Currently, rents are projected at $2,500 to $5,500 for the apartments and the projection of $100,000 in revenue is based on the ability to achieve those rents.

"It's still in the cards to see how that plays out," Pregiato said, "but in the end I think Quarry Place has the potential to be a very good project."

Pictured here:  View of Quarry Place apartment complex under construction (photo by N. Bower); portrait of Joe Pregiato (courtesy Mr. Pregiato).