City presents Vanguard District metrics, tenant-improvement push and Lincoln Avenue strategy

City economic development staff told the City Council on April 15 that private investment and residential construction downtown have accelerated since adoption of the city's downtown overlay zone, and laid out programs intended to convert vacant storefronts, boost local hiring and measure outcomes in the Lincoln Avenue neighborhood.

The presentation, led by the city's economic development team and summarized to the council by Commissioner Salgado, said "since 2015 when we adopted the downtown overlay zone, we've seen $2,500,000,000 in private investment in New Rochelle," and described 11,000-plus new residential units across 32 projects, 23 of them complete or leasing.

Why it matters: The briefing tied physical development to city goals on jobs, small-business growth and neighborhood equity. Staff framed the Vanguard initiative as a toolbox of grants, regulatory changes and activation programs intended to reduce storefront vacancies, raise downtown patronage and target neighborhood benefits near the Link project.

City figures and programs presented - Private investment and housing: Staff said 11,000+ new residential units in 32 projects since 2015, with roughly 4,500 rental units currently leasing and an overall downtown occupancy staff estimated near 90 percent. They said 7,000 new residents are living downtown. The presentation said about $36 million in in-kind public benefits (new plazas, pocket parks and community spaces) have been provided as part of private projects. - Affordable housing: Staff said the downtown buildout includes about 1,000 affordable units. Across the completed and in-progress portfolio, staff reported that 23 percent of total units are affordable at varying AMI levels; they said 34 percent of the affordable units are occupied by New Rochelle residents overall and that in buildings where the city preference can be enforced, 58 percent of those units house New Rochelle residents. Staff said three projects were under construction adding 157 affordable units and six projects with site-plan approval would add another 164 affordable units plus roughly 2,100 market-rate units. - Public realm and amenities: Presenters listed eight new public spaces and six community interior spaces created as part of projects, named Pratt Landing Waterfront Park and several plazas (Anderson Plaza, Clinton Park Plaza, Westchester Place Public Art Plaza and a Berlin Lane pocket park), and said development produced 20 new downtown murals and 26 municipal EV charging parking spaces. - Vacancy activation and tenant-improvement fund: The Vanguard tenant-improvement grant program is meant to reduce barriers to occupancy. Staff said the program received about 50 pre-applications and that 53 applicants had been advanced to the completed-application stage; 10 applications had been reviewed by a financial consultant and were prepared for award consideration. Of those 10, staff said five would occupy new spaces and five were expansions of existing downtown businesses. Staff said the maximum grant would be $250,000 per application and that the city is using a third-party financial consultant to evaluate feasibility and award recommendations. - Data and marketing tools: The city said it contracted LiveXYZ (through the municipal development corporation) to catalog vacant spaces and provide a searchable map of properties citywide; staff described the product as a live inventory that will include photos, zoning and filterable search options. The city also reported 16 media placements and roughly 400 new social followers on official channels since October 2024 as part of a marketing push. - Public safety and maintenance: Staff said they increased cleaning and maintenance, expanded 24/7 coverage in certain garage stairwells, added an overnight security patrol running 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., and rolled out branded uniforms for maintenance staff to increase visibility. - Workforce and small-business supports: Under the economic opportunity framework staff described, the First Source referral center has had about 2,700 enrollments and about 2,400 employment placements since inception, with roughly 1,300 new enrollments in the current year. The New Rochelle Forward vocational program reported four cohorts, 93 graduates and 55 hires placed in jobs at an average hourly wage of about $20. A Booker T. Washington vocational institute for ages 14'17 reported 160 participants since 2021 and a summer cohort planned for 2025.

Lincoln Avenue/Link and equity measurement Staff said they are treating the Link project's immediate area as a test bed for targeted economic and zoning interventions in the Lincoln Avenue neighborhood. They announced a summer fellowship with Harvard and Bloomberg Philanthropies to define the geographic boundaries of the neighborhood impact area, to build a baseline dataset and to work with the Black Wealth Data Center to create a dashboard to measure outcomes for the neighborhood's Black community. Staff said the objective is to track whether interventions lead to displacement or benefit long-time residents, and to "keep us honest" about equitable outcomes.

Council reaction and Q&A Council members asked for more granular, visible mapping and data for residents and for colleagues: requests included a searchable or printable map of the 50 new businesses, filters by council district, an overlay showing which vacancies are in newly built developments versus longstanding storefront vacancies, and charts that separate short-term vacancies from long-term vacancies. Several members pressed staff for clearer occupancy definitions and for regular updates on retail vacancy rates and program outcomes. Councilmembers also discussed parking and nighttime access as constraints on nightlife and restaurant growth; staff said a parking-management consultant has been retained to analyze downtown parking and recommend a strategic plan.

What the city will do next Staff said the LiveXYZ mapping product will be updated quarterly and can be configured to show district-level filters. The Harvard/Bloomberg fellow will begin work in the summer to define the Lincoln Avenue impact area and produce the baseline dashboard. Staff said they will continue awarding tenant-improvement grants after financial consultant review and will return to Council with further implementation details and recommended metrics.

Ending Commissioner Salgado closed the presentation and opened the item for questions; Council members spent the remainder of the item asking for additional detail, more frequent reporting and mapped, downloadable data for residents and businesses.