Development Along Tarrytown Riverfront Taking Shape

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Developer Joe Cotter is looking at former Striped Bass restaurant site.

March 5, 2015

| by Janie Rosman |

National RE/sources developer, Joe Cotter, continues to be busy building down by the Tarrytown riverfront.

Phase One of the approximately 25-acre Hudson Harbor development (which will ultimately consist of 238 residences north of West Main Street) is complete. Cotter started with 20 condominiums in the Stonehouse, fashioned after Rockefeller’s Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, with impressive stonework and woodwork enhancing its façade, as well as 36 Manhattan-style townhouses that have been likened to Georgetown in Washington, D.C. with their brick and limestone facades.

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Cotter then built the sleek and more modern Lookout South’s 42 residential units overlooking the Hudson River and the RiverWalk, with stonework complementing balconies and large glass windows. Then, he created 27 carriage houses surrounding Pembroke Park, an old-world semi-private stroll garden designed by Tarrytown resident Robert Welsch, owner and chief landscape designer of Westover Landscape Design, in collaboration with Rob Flynn of Flynn Stone. Between 2,100 and 2,800 square feet, the carriage houses are more varied than the townhouses and lower in price.

Phase Two is Lookout North (about 50 residences), which is similar to Lookout South, also on the water and nearing completion. Plans for his next proposal — further residential units in a final building by the water at the northwest corner of Hudson Harbor — are being prepared for the village’s review.

Remaining undeveloped as yet is the northeast corner of Hudson Harbor, whose old stable building is under review by the Planning Board, with plans for a possible restoration as a coffee shop and restaurant with some offices on the second floor.

Cotter also has plans for the Cooney office building, where Tappan Zee Constructors, LLC (TZC) currently rents the 45,000-square foot location and the entire parking area to its east, once it becomes available in 2018. “It would make a great location for a museum or other specific destination,” Cotter said. “We’ve been talking with the Jacob Burns Foundation and others about possible plans.”

The developer wants to move ahead with the last of the riverfront pieces and initially proposed a plan that included townhouses to fill the northernmost property adjacent to the river. A more recent proposal was for River House (submitted in November), which included condominium buildings north of Lookouts North and South. He is currently redesigning this plan because it exceeded the height limitations specified in the zoning code. The redesigned plans will comply with the subdivision.

Land south of Andre Brook, including the now-closed Striped Bass restaurant, may also be another Cotter development prospect. A spokesperson for the developer said that, since Hurricane Sandy devastated the area, the building will have to be raised three to five feet from the ground. Through an agreement with the Tarrytown Boat Club, Cotter has until the end of this year to submit plans to the village.

Regarding the property, “All Joe Cotter did was to discuss concepts with the Board of Trustees,” said Village Manager Michael Blau. “There is no formal application at this time.”

The developer is currently getting feedback from the village regarding specific compliance issues. Cotter plans to build two or three different restaurants and small shops “that will retain the charm of the area,” the spokesperson said. Parking is a sticky point in terms of this project.

The Board of Trustees and Planning Board were scheduled to meet jointly on March 4 to discuss and, possibly, act upon the application from Hudson Harbor for River House plus an amendment to the Hudson Harbor Master Plan.

Good news is that the unsightly sinkholes along RiverWalk will finally be fixed. “The village will be going out to bid for sinkhole repair work for late spring or early summer, or sooner if possible,” Blau said, noting village officials are currently working on specifics with its marine engineering firm.

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