Page 48 - 2020 Westchester Economic Development Guide

Real Estate
A New Frontier
Amid a hot real estate market, an established player discovers fresh opportunity in Westchester’s growing field of life sciences.
A New Vision
Above: A rendering of RPW Group’s upcoming White Plains development.
Across Westchester’s 500 square miles, world-class real estate development com- panies such as RPW Group, Diamond Properties, Lennar, Ginsburg Development Companies and Simone have all driven prolific transit-oriented, waterfront and commercial develoment.
Leveraging significant real estate development and management exeri- ence, Robert Martin Company is ex- panding into a high growth industry: life sciences and health technologies.
RMC Bio1 is led by Laurence Gottlieb, former president and CEO of Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation (HVEDC) and former head of the Westchester County Office of Economic Development. Here, Gottlieb and RMC’s Tim Jones discuss the genesis of this project.
How did RMC get involved in this project?
TJ: Besides real estate development, we have invested in other types of busi- nesses over the years and sought out
new opportunities in emerging industry sectors, such as the life sciences.
Why Westchester?
LG: The entire ecosystem of the region- al life sciences cluster has experienced meteoric growth over the past decade, combining Westchester County’s un- paralleled intellectual capital, world class assets such as New York Medical College, Burke Neurological Institute and BioInc@NYMC with global indus- try leaders Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Acorda Therapeutics.
What’s been completed thus far?
TJ: We repurchased three million square feet of office/flexible space that we had developed and sold many years ago, so we are targeting part of the portfolio closest to New York Medical College for life sciences and related businesses.
What are the top priorities?
LG: We have launched RMC Bio1 to at- tract companies from New York City, New Jersey and Connecticut searching for affordable, flexible, laboratory and work environments matched with ex- ecutive management support. Working with industry experts and a top architec- tural firm, we’ll be developing flexible lab/office space for companies that are graduating out of area incubators. This initiative will eventually embrace nu- merous components, including RMC- owned properties networked together throughout the region, high level 1:1 strategic support and an investment
fund covering the full science and technology spectrum. We’ll hopefully make our first investments this year.
The Westchester County IDA
In 2019, The Westchester County Industrial Development Agency announced it provided financial incentives for a wide range of new commercial developments that accounted for approximately $1.6 billion in new investment in Westchester County, more than double the amount secured in 2018.
Major development projects receiv- ing IDA incentives in 2019 included:
BioMed Realty for the renovation of 97,000 square feet of new state-of-the-art life sciences space in the town of Greenburgh.
Simone Healthcare Development
to transform a vacant, four-story office building at 104 Corporate Park Drive in Harrison into a pediatric care ambulatory facility.
RPW Group for a $95-million apartment complex to be built on a parking lot across from an office building at 1133 Westchester Ave.
Cuddy & Feder partner Eon S. Nichols obtained IDA approval on three major developments, represent- ing a total private investment of over $1.2 billion. These include:
Lennar Multifamily Company, for a $500 million mixed-use development at the site of the former Westchester Pavilion at 60 South Broadway.
WP Mall Realty, LLC for Hamilton Green, a $585.2 million mixed-use, transit-oriented development located at the site of the former White Plains Mall on Hamilton Avenue in White Plains.
National Development received preliminary approval for sales
tax exemptions for a five-story, 132-unit independent living community for seniors to be built at 120 Bloomingdale Road.
“Working with the County Executive’s Office and the IDA is a collaborative process,” said Nichols. “It’s gratifying to help to bring these remarkable development projects to fruition in one of the most dynamic real estate markets in the country.”
“The Westchester County IDA has provided a great benefit to the County. We’re seeing the results of their hard work in terms of the amount of real estate development taking place and the number of companies moving into the area. The IDA has been very effective as a great generator of activity and employment in the area.” —Andrew Weisz, Vice President, RPW Group
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WESTCHESTER COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE
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