Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Project Financing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Applicant tells Bronxville ZBA stalled lending and permit steps prompted 12‑month extension request
Summary
The project's representative said financing setbacks—contacting nearly 40 banks and lenders' discomfort with flood‑zone projects—and remaining pre‑construction work, including asbestos remediation, prompted a request for a 12‑month extension; architect said site should be shovel‑ready soon if permit and remediation proceed.
The project's representative told the Bronxville Zoning Board of Appeals the team has advanced design work and received contractor bids but is still finalizing financing, saying they had "spoke[n] to nearly 40 [banks]" and found the lending environment for projects in flood zones "not terribly constructive." The representative asked the board for more time, acknowledging this was the second time the team had requested an extension and that in hindsight they "probably should have asked for 12" months originally.
Project architect Steve Secon said market conditions—interest rates, tariffs and lender caution for flood‑zone projects—have changed the bidding climate and that asking for a year was a conservative choice. Secon added, "I don't expect that it's gonna take a year to get shovel in the ground," and estimated active construction would be about 12–15 months once started. The applicant also told the board that asbestos remediation remains to be completed before they can file for a building permit and that at least one contractor indicated he would honor a prior bid while negotiations continue.
Board members pressed the applicant on concrete recent progress; the applicant said they have underwriting and appraisal completed and "one last submission" before filing for permit. The board's questions focused on whether a shorter, six‑month extension would be sufficient and how the permit timetable would interact with any extension the board granted.
