State of the City Address Includes Construction Plans for Downtown

For those who want to find out more about the plans to revitalize downtown New Rochelle, the city is working with an online resource called Crowdsourced Placemaking.

This offers New Rochelle residents a space to voice their opinions on what improvements can or should be made to their city, and on that process as it moves forward.

Visit Crowdsourcenr.com, which went live April 1, to participate.

For people who would rather voice their concerns in person, city officials will be setting up a feedback process at two downtown offices where citizens will be able to have the same opportunity as they would if they were doing it online.

Mayor Noam Bramson hopes to create “a healthy downtown [that] encourages you to wander, to stroll, to explore, confident that there is something around the next corner worth seeing or doing.”

In October, the city council voted unanimously to work with Renaissance Downtowns and RXR Realty. RDRXR will have access to what is described as “ten acres in total including municipal lots and garages, the train station, and even the library.”

Some of the changes in the works are improvements to the Metro North station and its environs, and updated plans for the Local Waterfront Revitalization program. Currently, the city has received various proposals ranging from apartments to hotels to green buildings and expanding local colleges.

“We’re looking to exchange our downtown as a whole – multiple sites, planned together, each location and use strengthening and supporting the other, preserving what works, and changing what doesn’t,” said Bramson in his recent State of the City address.

With all of the changes to be made to New Rochelle, Bramson made sure to address several concerns already expressed by residents and business owners. He assured listeners that issues such as space for parking will be a priority in deciding what will happen.

“The master developers will spearhead the most open and inclusive community outreach process we’ve ever seen,” said Bramson.

All new improvements to downtown will be a collaborative effort between the City Council and developers, working together to determine what is best for New Rochelle. Bramson said officials will make sure the city has the financial means to support the changes.

The results from this process should be seen by the end of 2015, if not earlier, Bramson said. Officials hope work on specific improvement projects will start by 2016, though the whole program could take a decade to complete.

Bramson clarified that there will be requirements that must be met when making these renovations. One of them is that changes will not be made without feedback from residents.