Written by Carol P. Bartold

Sep. 17, 2014: Efforts to develop the 100 Pondfield building from a commercial building designed for storage to a downtown residential property continued before the Bronxville Planning Board at its September 12 meeting.

Known to many village residents as the Manhattan Storage facility, the building sits off Pondfield Road next to CVS surrounded by other commercial buildings and is accessible only by an alley.

Developers Pondfield Court LLC have modified the original plan, presented to the board in 2013, to create eleven condominium apartments rather than nine and redesigned the first-floor parking area to accommodate twenty-two parking spaces, two per unit. The addition of a fourth floor to the existing structure remains part of the plan.

"My client feels that adding the fourth floor is the minimum to make this an effective project," stated Hannah Gross, attorney for Pondfield Court LLC. "The second story, as well as part of the third, is pretty much hemmed in by the surrounding buildings."

Gross added that, as the design now stands, the building is planned to include two one-bedroom apartments and nine two-bedroom units. She pointed out that all of the units now have a separate, smaller area marked as a den. Gross emphasized that the dens are not "third bedrooms masquerading." The smaller rooms, which do not have closets or windows, could be used as a home office or crafting space, a workout area, or storage for wine or cigars, she added.

Residents of the Bronxville Towers Apartments, across the street from 100 Pondfield, attended the planning board meeting to voice their concerns and urge the board to reject the Pondfield Court LLC application.

Prime among the board's concerns is safety along Pondfield Road. Patricia Warble, president of the Bronxville Towers Apartments board, stated that, with a dead-end alley providing the only access to the 100 Pondfield building, a steady stream of residential and commercial traffic entering and leaving the building would have an impact on traffic flow in the downtown business district significant enough to endanger vehicles and pedestrians.

Gross stated that the alley presents a challenge to the developers because the owners of the 100 Pondfield building do not have exclusive rights to the shared easement. Those rights sit with the owners of commercial properties adjacent to the alley. "That means the adjacent owners have the right to use the easement in common with us," she said. "To the extent the owners have given consent to their tenants to use the alley easement to take deliveries or park in the space between the back of the bakery and the front of my client's building, I can't change that."

Warble pointed out that the only two delivery parking areas in the vicinity of 100 Pondfield--an area on Cedar Street and another on Park Place--are already in high demand throughout the day. The Bronxville Towers Apartments board feels that those delivery areas will suffer an increased burden with the development of additional residential units in the business district. "We would suggest that, once delivery trucks could not find parking, they would likely go down the alley, not realizing there is no room to turn around," she said, adding that trucks would have to back out of the property onto Pondfield Road.

Gross stated that, as part of the ongoing conversation between the developer and owners of adjacent properties, the owners have agreed to prohibit parking on the alley. The parties have also discussed options for coordinating deliveries to the businesses adjacent to the alley easement. She said that mostly smaller commercial vehicles use the alley and that larger vehicles make deliveries only a few times each week and usually early in the morning.

According to Gross, the developers have proposed a concierge to be on duty at least 40 hours per week for the completed development. "Maybe one of the concierge's duties will be to work with tenants to inform them when a delivery truck will be utilizing the driveway," she said, "or to assist with getting the truck into the driveway," she said. "It's just a matter of coordinating."

Warble noted that the Bronxville Towers Apartments board supports a viable plan for renovating the 100 Pondfield structure, a "dilapidated eyesore whose entrance is often littered with refuse. We would welcome the additional tax revenue these apartments would bring to the village. However, we oppose the current plan," she stated.

The developers (Pondfield Court LLC) will appear, again, before the planning board at its October 8 meeting to continue the application, according to Gross.

Pictured here:  Manhattan Storage building located behind CVS at 100 Pondfield Road.

Photo by A. Warner