New Castle Officials Poised to Lease Train Station to Chases

Up for approval at the New Castle Town Council’s March 24 meeting is a lease for an eatery at the Chappaqua Train Station.

Town Supervisor Rob Greenstein told Daily Voice reporter Tom Auchterlonie Friday that the lessee named in the board packet of documents for Tuesday’s meeting, Chappaqua Station New York, LLC, is the Chases’ company.

The draft lease includes:

the Town of New Castle will receive $3,300.00 per month fixed rent (three months following the commencement date) with annual fixed rent increases of 3%, and with Tenant paying for electric, water, fuel and insurance during the term and depositing two months’ fixed rent security with a principal’s guaranty. The term of the Lease will be ten (10) years from the commencement date subject to a market rent adjustment during such renewal period. This Resolution is adopted subject to a permissive referendum.

This may be the end of a long saga. So far there have been several proposals, a couple of false starts, and sharp fighting over the plans for the station building; but by Oct. 22, 2014 only Peter and Erin Chase submitted a formal proposal in answer to the town’s RFP.

• SEE: New Castle Board to Consider Chases’ Farm to Town Proposal for Chappaqua Station

“We are very excited for our proposal but have a small hurdle of electricity to get over,” Erin Chase wrote on their Facebook page in November. “We will be working with the Town to try to figure out how we can get more power to the Station. Thank you to everyone for the support and well wishes.”

That small hurdle took four months to work out.

In a nutshell, the town is supplying certain labor to upgrade the electrical capacity that is delivered to the building, Greenstein told Patch. “ The Chases are paying $15,000 towards the materials for that upgrade. Any other electrical work associated with renovating and preparing the space as a restaurant will be done by the Chases.”

“Farm to Town” would be a combination farm stand and eatery. It includes a collaboration with the Farmers Market and local bakeries, a rotating exhibit of local artists’ works, a modest breakfast, lunch and dinner menu, and funding for small local gardens to furnish some of the ingredients.

The value of their concept, bpc Enterprises noted in October, included:

• The station isn’t suitable for a full scale restaurant but could easily handle something more than a take-out eatery and coffee shop.
• It would work within the space and use restrictions, including the need to keep public bathrooms open and the lack of room for full-service food preparation, storage and dishwashing.
• It would have a minimal impact on the structure of the historic building.
• It works within the existing power supply.
• It would not require adding propane or gas cooking connections and equipment.

Tuesday, the town council will meet first in executive session at 6:45 p.m. A work session will follow at 7:05 p.m. and the board’s business meeting will start at 8:05.

The executive and work sessions will be in Conference Rooms A&B and the business meeting will be held in the Assembly Room of New Castle Town Hall, 200 So. Greeley Ave., Chappaqua.