Group Tackling 2 Key Areas With Master Plan

The planning firm tasked with completing Harrison's revised Master Plan said Thursday night they will spend this summer focusing on two key areas—downtown and the Platinum Mile.

Frank Fish, Jonathan Martin and Susan Favate, representatives from BFJ Planning, made a 25-minute presentation to the Harrison Town Board Thursday evening, publicly meeting with the board for the first time since BFJ was selected to head the town's Master Plan redevelopment.

Martin updated the board on some ideas for how to re-populate Harrison's struggling Platinum Mile, a four-mile stretch of commercial property once filled with active business parks and leading corporations but now almost 20 percent vacant.

Martin said some early plans include adding more connections between business parks along the Platinum Mile and even introduced the idea of adding residential space toward the middle of the commercial district. Martin said he thinks creating various new uses for the land could help decrease vacancies there. He estimated that there are about 6 million square feet of vacant office space in Westchester County, so demand for the large office parks around Westchester Avenue isn't high.

"These (numbers) spell very difficult conditions for these buildings and property owners in terms of leasing."

BFJ planners said adding a few different uses for the property and creating more interconnectivity between parcels could help support fitness centers life the soon to be constructed Lifetime Fitness center and even retail shops in the space.

The proposed changes, still in very preliminary stages, would be somewhat drastic. The Platinum Mile currently allows for very limited retail and zero residential use. Councilwoman Marlane Amelio warned that she expects a "tremendous amount of resistance" regarding new residential units in the area from residents of Purchase, citing land use issues and possible overcrowding at Purchase Elementary School.

Downtown also creates several challenges, Martin said. There are currently nine different zoning districts in Harrison's downtown. Each section allows for various amounts of density and building height.

"It's very mixed," Martin said. "We want to look at each one of those very carefully."

The proposed MTA project will also be important as BFJ works with town planners moving forward. Martin said he thinks developing the current parking lot near the train station could help change the makeup and use of the business district.

"I really think that's key to be part of the catalyst downtown," he said. "I can just see this vision for downtown Harrison that could be very walkable and very attractive."

Studies will continue along Halstead Avenue during the summer regarding building height and the overall direction Harrison wants to take with the area.

Fish told the board Thursday he hopes to have an open discussion with Harrison's residents about the Master Plan sometime in early June. At this time, he said, all ideas are preliminary and open to discussion.

"We would like (Harrison residents) to feel like they are truly a part of this because they are," he said.

Harrison hasn't completed an update on the Master Plan, which outlines zoning, population density and future development plans, since 1988.

BFJ helped create a draft of the Master Plan in 2007 under then-Mayor/Supervisor Steve Malfitano. The plan was shelved during the four year Joan Walsh administration as the town focused on financial issues.

The Harrison Town Board voted to bring BFJ back this spring to re-work the plan. Representatives said Thursday they will work on updating the old plan to reflect current census information while adding two entirely new chapters about the Platinum Mile and downtown business district—areas the board has directed them to focus on this time around.

After a public hearing in late May or early June, Fish said BFJ will work on a preliminary draft of the Master Plan to bring back to the board in September. After that he said BFJ hopes to complete a final draft by Thanksgiving.