The State of Hudson Harbor and Tarrytown's Aquatic Center

Sales have been steady at Hudson Harbor and with any luck the multimillion-dollar waterfront redevelopment could be completed within two years, and Tarrytown could see a new aquatics center, officials said.

However, those predictions hinge on the real estate market.

"I think we've been very successful so far," said Alicia Goldman, sales director for Hudson Harbor.

Hudson Harbor has sold 19 condominium apartments and 12 townhouses since it put its first homes on the market last spring, Goldman said. The condominium apartments have sold for between $495,000 and $1.1 million and the townhouses have sold for between $1.1 million and $2.3 million, she said.

There are 24 units currently on the market, she said.

When the project is completed it will feature 238 new housing units. Having finished the first of three construction phases, the developer Tarrytown Waterfront LLC, which is owned by Natural RE/sources, is set to break ground on the second phase this summer. Phase II includes two 52-foot tall towers of condominium apartments with around 100 units, as well as and 28 two-story townhouses, according to documents filed with the village planning board (more on changes to the project in tomorrow's piece).

Hudson Harbor is a $350 million to $400 million redevelopment of 24 formerly polluted acres along West Main Street. In addition to the new condominium apartments and townhouses, the project will also include retail space and facilities for a restaurant.

As part of the agreement between the developer, Natural RE/sources, and the village, Tarrytown will have a new aquatics center built within two years of Hudson harbor receiving its 47th certificate of occupancy. Currently Hudson Harbor has 31 certificates of occupancy, according to village officials. Goldman said it's possible they could get the 47th within six months.

"We opened for sales this time last year and we sold 32 in a year so it's imaginable that it could only take six months to get there," she said. "Of course it could take longer."

If the developer fails to build the aquatics center within two years after receiving the 47th certificate of occupancy the village of Tarrytown could draw from a $5 million bond provided by National RE/sources to build an aquatics center on its own.

Goldman said she estimates that construction on Hudson Harbor could be completed within two to three years, with the third and final phase starting in a year.

She said that the down housing market has actually helped Hudson Harbor as much as it hurt.

"Not that the market hasn't affected us, but opening in a market that was already down helped us because a lot of builders stopped building," she said. "So we had inventory."

She also downplayed rumors that Natural RE/sources has had financial woes and said that everything in the plans is still on track. Earlier this year, the property was in water arrears, owing the village over $20,000 for water and sewer services.

Two weeks ago, Tarrytown Mayor Drew Fixell said it was "impossible to know" the economic state of the project, but Goldman said that things are still moving smoothly.

"We're definitely going to build everything, it's just what time and the market allows," she said. "There are always rumors like that, but we're doing OK."

Last month Hudson Harbor was fined $100,000 by the state Department of Environmental Conservation stemming from a 2008 inspection that showed that workers didn't notify the DEC before excavating in contaminated soil, mishandling contaminated soil, installing water lines in contaminated soil, mismanaging the water and breaking health and safety codes.

Hudson Harbor is built atop a former asphalt plant. The area was declared a brownfield site.

Michael S. Blau, the village administrator, said that that he hopes to see Hudson Harbor receive its 47th certificate of occupancy this year.

"You have to be realistic versus optimistic," he said. "We could see it in the next year if the economy picks up and people want to buy townhouses, otherwise it could be a couple years down the road at least."