Retail's place in the new New Rochelle
Everyone—and I mean everyone, not just real estate pros—knows that the core value of great real estate is location. New Rochelle easily stands out in this regard. Thirty-five minutes from midtown Manhattan on the Metro North train. I-95 running through the center of town. Our waterfront parks and Municipal Marina provide boaters, fishermen, and bathers glorious access to Long Island Sound.
Our downtown was home to the first Bloomingdale’s outside of New York City. The New Rochelle Mall, also known as the Macy’s Mall, drew shoppers from all across the area.
The presence of Iona University, The College of New Rochelle (which closed in 2019) and Monroe College (now Monroe University) in our city brought a fun and youthful flair to downtown. In an effort to calm things down, the city government had effectively put a moratorium on new cabaret licenses and experiential retail like fitness uses and outdoor dining hoping to allure more regular retail.
Instead, it had the opposite effect. Downtown New Rochelle--historically very vibrant in Westchester County--fell into a state of decline.
In 2015, our Downtown Redevelopment Initiative was approved to meet demand for multifamily housing in the region, and new residential towers began rising on our skyline. Our award-winning form-based zoning attracted more than $2.2 billion of funding from private investors, setting in motion the construction of 32 residential projects containing over 10,000 units of housing. Today, 6,500 of those apartments are completed or under construction.
Our concurrent thought was, “Where are all those new residents going to shop, eat, and be entertained?”
In October, we began to answer that question with the approval of our “Downtown Retail Strategy,” a placemaking plan that will re-sculpt our central core with new restaurants, entertainment attractions, and retail brands for the city’s growing population and make it a regular destination for our nearby neighbors in Bronxville, Larchmont, and Mamaroneck.
New Rochelle’s plan for the creation of what is called the Vanguard District is to expand upon New Roc City--an existing 1.2 million-sq.-ft. entertainment, retail, and residential complex at the epicenter of our Downtown Retail effort. Our plan includes:
- A package of incentives to make it easy for tenants to locate in New Rochelle.
- Retail friendly zoning to modernize outdated code restrictions and remove barriers that previously prohibited bars and experiential businesses.
- Streetscape beautification and safety improvements including street furniture, parklets, decorative plantings, increased maintenance and cleaning, lighting upgrades, placemaking, and safer pedestrian connections.
- 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.
The Vanguard District seeks to attract a diverse range of new uses — from bars and gyms to live music venues and outdoor dining spots: think Gourmet Garage, Uniqlo, CB2, or Tacombi Tacos. Our adjacent Municipal Garage holds more than 2,000 spaces, allowing thousands of consumers easy access to this updated footprint and a vibrant cultural scene of community events throughout the year.
Real estate directors in the retail industry will find out one thing about the City of New Rochelle: We know how to get it done quickly. We are applying the same principle to retail that spurred on our building boom: a streamlined and predictable roadmap forward. Our City Council has approved a guarantee that all building applications meeting the city’s criteria would be approved within 90 days of their submission and that tenant improvement grants are available to new tenants wanting to retrofit existing properties.
New Rochelle is pulling out all the stops to attract the right retailers, restaurants, and nightlife to benefit its thousands of new residents, existing residents, and visitors. We invite you to be part of our next chapter.
Cheers!
