Hudson Valley News Network
October 28, 2016
By Kathy Welsh
NEW ROCHELLE – New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson, Developer Ralph Rossi of RMA Development, LLC, the City of New Rochelle, the New Rochelle IDA, and The Community Preservation Corporation (CPC) recently celebrated the grand opening of The Lombardi, a new $12 million, 48-unit, mixed-use development in downtown New Rochelle. Located at 11 Park Place—a five minute walk to the New Rochelle Transit Center.
The Lombardi is a key project in the City’s efforts to promote transit-oriented development within the downtown New Rochelle area. The project development site is part of an area that was recently re-zoned to allow greater density to facilitate multi-family residential and retail development in the community. To create a neighborhood that is livable, economically diverse, and affordable to a wide range of incomes, the City’s inclusionary zoning ordinance requires 10 percent of the units in a new construction project with 10 or more units being affordable to families earning 80 percent of AMI. Additionally, the New Rochelle Industrial Development Agency provided an exemption from sales tax on construction materials and state mortgage recording tax, helping to reduce the overall cost of the project and allowing it to be more affordable.
“The Lombardi is not just an outstanding addition to New Rochelle’s menu of housing options; it also represents the future of the North Avenue corridor and of our transit area as a whole. I congratulate the development team on this great accomplishment and look forward to celebrating the further positive transformation of this key portion of our city,” said Mayor Noam Bramson.
“The Lombardi project is the quintessential model of what can happen when the right location is paired with the proper zoning ordinance. The City has clearly been working with developers over the years on zoning that has made good development economically feasible,” said Ralph Rossi.
The Lombardi contains 2,550-square-feet of ground floor retail space, eight one-bedroom residential units, and 40 two-bedroom residential units. Ten percent of the property’s residential units are income-restricted and affordable to tenants earning 80 percent of the area median income. The Lombardi was conceived, designed, and built to provide its residents with an “Old World” experience. Paying homage to the town where the developer’s grandfather, father, and uncle emigrated from, The Lombardi is a fusion of European craftsmanship with today’s modern comforts and conveniences.
“The Lombardi is the North Avenue change agent our city needed,” said Luiz Aragon, Commissioner of Development at the City of New Rochelle. “A new North Avenue is about to blossom in New Rochelle.”
The Lombardi emphasizes state-of-the-art technology and energy-efficiency with the inclusion of a cogeneration plant and high efficiency and variable refrigerant flow (VRF) heating and cooling systems, among other features. The cogeneration plant uses natural gas to produce onsite electricity while utilizing its waste heat to generate free hot water for its residents. The VRF heating and cooling systems from LG are located in every apartment and allow tenants to control the temperature and programming for each room. In a recent study conducted by LG, VRF systems have been shown to save 66 percent in energy costs over packaged terminal air conditioner (PTAC) and packaged terminal heat pump (PTHP) systems.
The development was financed by CPC, which provided a $10.5 million construction loan and a SONYMA-insured permanent loan through the New York State Common Retirement Fund (CRF). CPC has a long-standing history of investing in revitalization projects in Downtown New Rochelle, most notably Davenport-Lofts on Main, a 72-unit condo project on the site of the former Bloomingdales. Since 1994, CPC has helped finance 51 multifamily housing projects with more than 1,100 units in New Rochelle.
“As a long time New Rochelle resident, firefighter, and business owner, I’m very happy with the direction our city is going. I’m glad to see people trust in New Rochelle and are willing be part of our future,” said Nicholas Triscari, owner of The Wooden Spoon.