The new New Rochelle: NYC suburb unveils a retail re-do
In 2015, the city council of New Rochelle, N.Y., a Westchester County suburb on Long Island Sound, 40 minutes from Grand Central Station via Metro North, made a bold decision to enhance its stature in the New York Metro.
It laid out a massive downtown redevelopment that would — with $2.2 billion of funding from private investors — set in motion the construction of 32 residential projects containing 10,000 units of housing. Today, with 6,500 of those apartments completed or under construction, the city of 85,000 people beckons to motorists on I-95 with a spanking new skyline.
This month, New Rochelle unveiled its “Downtown Retail Strategy,” a placemaking plan that will re-sculpt its downtown with new restaurants, entertainment attractions, and retail brands for its growing population and make it a regular destination for high-income citizens in neighboring towns such as Bronxville, Larchmont, and Mamaroneck.
“We had to find a way to differentiate ourselves,” said New Rochelle development commissioner Adam Salgado. “When multifamily developers submitted building applications, we promised they would get them approved within 90 days, and since that time we’ve been really bullish on the residential buildout of the downtown. But we noticed that the retail was not moving as fast as the residential.”
New Rochelle’s plan for the creation of what it is calling the Vanguard District includes:
- The establishment of a $2.25 million tenant improvement grant program to provide support for physical improvements and relocation costs for retail brands looking to occupy spaces in the district.
- Streetscape beautification and safety improvements that will include street furniture, parklets, decorative plantings, increased maintenance and cleaning, lighting upgrades, placemaking, and safer pedestrian connections.
- Modernizing outdated code restrictions that will remove barriers that previously prohibited bars and experiential businesses. The Vanguard District plan seeks to attract a diverse range of new tenants — from bars and gyms to live music venues and outdoor dining spots.
"Restoration Hardware, Whole Foods, Aldi — those are some of the brands that would work great in New Rochelle,” said Peter Brock, a member of New Rochelle’s Downtown Retail Task Force who arrived in the city in 1975 and operates the NoMa (North of Manhattan) hotel.”
Brock landed in New Rochelle because it was close to New York City, yet was devoid of onerous city taxes and infrastructure costs.
“We’re planning to have activated sidewalks and outdoor areas and better parking,” Brock said. “And retail nodes where people will want to come to downtown and spend. We’re looking at which retailers who are not there but should be there.”
The retail strategy is meant to complement other projects underway in town, such as the redesign of the New Rochelle Train Station and the planned LINC project, which aims to re-link the African-American Lincoln Neighborhood District that had been cut off from direct access to downtown with the construction of a highway in the 1960s.
Commissioner Salgado said that the council and the committee are very open to being creative in refashioning downtown New Rochelle as a shopping and entertainment destination.
“We’re examining all of the uses that are popular in retail districts,” Salgado noted. “We want all kinds of businesses to feel welcome in New Rochelle.”
