Planning Board approves 570 Main Street site plan after extended public hearing and conditions

The New Rochelle Planning Board approved site plan PB3024 for a 28‑story mixed‑use building at 570 Main Street after a months‑long review and a lengthy public hearing on Feb. 24. Chair of the Planning Board handled the motions to declare lead agency and to adopt a negative declaration under SEQRA before voting to approve the site plan with more than 60 conditions.

The applicant, Crossroads Center LLC (represented by attorney Mark Weingarten), said the revised design reduced the residential unit count, added a subsurface municipal parking level, enlarged the garage entrance on Center Avenue and reduced retail square footage to limit curb queuing. "We pulled the tower back to create an area for a public open space," Weingarten said during the presentation. Architect John Settra described stepped setbacks, decorative screening over podium parking and a public open space pulled back 30 feet from 25 LeRoy Place.

Traffic consultant Nick Tortorella said the project will provide 418 total parking spaces: 267 valet (above grade), 104 tenant self‑park (below grade) and 47 below‑grade municipal self‑park spaces available to the public. He stated the project’s trip generation represents at most about 5% of the entitled new vehicle trips in the DOZ2 environmental baseline. "Our current project is expected to generate a maximum of 5% of the entitled new vehicle trips in that zone," Tortorella said.

Residents and neighborhood groups raised repeated objections at the public hearing, citing traffic congestion, school drop‑off safety near the Howland School, construction vibration and dust, shadowing of 25 LeRoy Place, and limited affordability in the proposed 10% set‑aside. Attorney Raya Mallett, representing tenants at 25 LeRoy, argued the board should issue a positive SEQRA declaration because the project exceeds DOZ2 thresholds and could have disproportionate impacts.

In response, the board attached conditions requiring the applicant to provide a workforce participation plan to city staff, ensure garbage removal within the property (with roll‑out to curb as appropriate), install a pet waste station, prohibit mechanical fan ventilation directing exhaust into the park area, and submit a construction mitigation plan that provides reasonable accommodations for students at the Howland School. The board also confirmed municipal control and fee collection for the 47 municipal parking spaces. The motions to declare lead agency, adopt a negative declaration, and approve the site plan passed on recorded voice votes.