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Planning Commission approves 41 North Division renovation to add 22 apartments, including units for youth aging out of foster care
Summary
The Peekskill Planning Commission approved a special permit and final site plan for the adaptive reuse of the Steinbeck's/Workers Comp building at 41 North Division St., allowing 22 upper‑floor apartments with ground‑floor commercial space and parking waivers subject to conditions, including a requirement to return with final commercial-use plans prior to a residential certificate of occupancy.
The Peekskill Planning Commission voted to approve a special permit, final site plan and associated parking waivers for the renovation of 41 North Division Street into a mixed‑use building that will include 22 residential units and ground‑floor and basement commercial space.
Joseph Thompson, the project architect, told the commission the application had been updated since the last hearing and noted that members of the board had toured Children's Village properties. “We checked on capacity,” Thompson said regarding off‑site garage permits, and said the applicant had identified available capacity in the James Street garage for permit options. Public commenter Cynthia Knox, who introduced herself as a Peekskill resident and CEO of CHOP, urged approval, saying the plan includes 22 units with 10 set aside and managed by Children's Village for people aging out of foster care: “This mixed use project with 22 below market affordable apartments … will not only breathe life into this dormant property, but also help address our housing crisis,” Knox said.
Commissioners asked detailed questions on parking allocation, permit assignment and a utilization review period. Thompson and Children's Village representative Vincent Madera said Children's Village will purchase permit allocations and designate them for tenants, and that a utilization check after an initial period would allow scaling. Madera described employment supports for the residents assigned to Children's Village units: paid internships, monthly job‑readiness workshops and assigned caseworkers to help prevent evictions.
The commission approved the project as a Type II action under SEQR (referred to in the staff report as SEEKER). The approval is subject to the conditions in the staff report and an explicit condition that the applicant return to the commission to confirm acceptable specific commercial uses prior to issuance of a final residential certificate of occupancy.
