Planning board sends no-objection letter for 14-story Court Street senior affordable housing project

The City of White Plains Planning Board on Feb. 18 voted to draft a letter to the Common Council indicating no objection to site-plan approval for Court Street Residences, a proposed 14-story building at 23–29 Court Street containing 141 affordable senior apartments, roughly 7,400 square feet of nonprofit space for The Loft, and roughly 12,000 square feet of amenities and social-service space.

Kristen Wilson and Richard Ross, representing the development team, described the proposal as a 0.55-acre site currently used as a parking lot, to be replaced with a brick masonry building and underground stormwater management, utilities connections to Court Street, and new streetscape plantings. Ross said "low income" in this project refers to households at or below 60% of area median income and that the senior designation applies to residents aged 62 and older.

Board members asked about parking: the plan proposes 47 on-site parking spaces for 141 apartments and the developers said they would pay parking in lieu fees to meet the city's requirements. The applicant said the Board of Elections building currently using some nearby parking was expected to move, which would affect background parking demand, and that any separate county-owned parcel could be bifurcated from the submission for clarity.

The Planning Board's action at the meeting was to prepare an advisory letter to the Common Council stating no objection to the project; the board noted that site-plan approval remains subject to building permits, stormwater management compliance, traffic and parking review, and any tax or financing arrangements such as low-income housing tax credits or bond financing. The project team said they intend to pursue low-income housing tax credits and bond financing.