Martin Ginsburg’s Valhalla-based Ginsburg Development Companies (GDC) has submitted plans to Yonkers for the second building in its Bridgewater Project, which will when completed would bring a total of 385 new apartments to the city. The building Bridgewater North has already been approved by the city and Bridgewater South, to be located at the corner of Ludlow Street and Bridge Street, is planned as the second of two buildings in the development.
Bridgewater South is to be situated at 55 Knowles St. and 151 Ludlow St. The plan calls for a mixed-use building with 177 apartments and 189 parking spaces. It would be six stories of residential above two levels of parking. There would be two retail spaces along Ludlow Street, one of them 1,600 square feet and the other 1,260 square feet.
Rendering of Ginsburg’s Bridgewater South building.
The unit mix would consist of 18 studio apartments, 78 one-bedroom units, and 81 two-bedroom apartments.
Bridgewater North is at 150 Downing St. It is to be a nine-story building with 208 apartments on seven floors above two levels of parking. The site has been the subject of a Brownfield Cleanup under the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Brownfield Tax Credit program and is 99% complete.
Jim Surdoval of GDC told the Yonkers Planning Board that the company’s financing sources will require approval of the second building before construction can begin on the first one.
“For this 177-unit building we have 189 parking spaces,” Surdoval said. “They will be allocated 177 to the residential units meeting the TOD (transit oriented development) one-per-unit requirement, 10 for retail parking, meeting the requirement for the 2,860 square feet of retail that we propose in the building on Ludlow Street, which would leave two surplus spaces. In addition, we’re going to be providing 15 new metered spaces on newly-rebuilt Bridge Street for the Yonkers Parking Authority to service the area.”
Surdoval said that a unique feature of the south building is that it is built over Knowles Street. He said there have been discussions with Yonkers to purchase the street bed of Knowles Street even though GDC will not be building on it.
“Cars will still be able to pass under,” Surdoval said. “The city conducted an appraisal and we’ve agreed to a number and we now are in the process of waiting for the contract from the city.”
Surdoval said that they have had numerous meetings with various city departments and will be addressing issues that were raised by preparing a memo and supplemental plans in time for the Planning Board’s November meeting.
Leo Torres, vice president of architecture and design for GDC, said there would be a mix of studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments. He said that 18 of the units would be priced as affordable housing. He said that the current thinking is that wood frame construction would be used for the residential units and the garage construction would be concrete.
“The entire building is fully sprinklered,” Torres said. “The building actually bridges over Knowles Street. We’re allowing 19 feet at a minimum for clearance of vehicles beneath.”