Developer reports 60 South Broadway under contract; council urged to maintain approval extension

Neil Alexander of Cutting and Fader, representing the applicant for the 60 South Broadway project, told the White Plains Common Council on March 31 that a buyer has the property under contract and the parties hope to close in the first half of the year.

Alexander said the owner — an entity the applicant retained a national brokerage to market the site — decided not to build the project itself and identified a purchaser through that brokerage. “They have gotten the property under contract, and the hope is to have that contract closed in the first half of the year,” Alexander said. He added the sale agreement includes a due-diligence period and some confidentiality; he said he did not know all of the buyer’s intentions.

Alexander told council members that if the city does not maintain the existing approval extension, the buyer’s due-diligence process could be hindered. “If you have a...due diligence period and we don't extend the approval, that would not be helpful,” he said. Alexander also said that if a new purchaser files a new proposal, the city would review it from scratch.

Council members expressed cautious optimism. Councilman Frye Pearson said he was not yet persuaded to extend approvals indefinitely without tangible evidence that construction will begin but said he planned to vote for an extension to allow more time; Councilman Payne and others thanked the applicant for the update. Questions from the council clarified the property's location across from the Crowne Plaza on South Broadway and that the site previously housed a McDonald's and Alexander’s restaurant.

No formal council vote on a sale or on a final extension was recorded in the transcript; the exchange was an informational update and a request to continue the project’s approval while the buyer completes due diligence.