Message from the Mayor: BP Arco advances in selecting a developer for the waterfront
Posted on: June 15, 2018 - 8:52pm
Fellow Residents,
Last week, BP (more accurately, their subsidiary, Atlantic Richfield Company, “ARC”, which is the actual owner of the 28 acres of waterfront property) notified the village that they have moved to the next stage in selecting a company that will be responsible for both the clean-up and ultimate development of the waterfront property. They have selected a property developer, SunCal, a national firm based in Irvine, California, and are continuing detailed negotiations. SunCal has developed master-planned communities around the country, including one now beginning construction on the former GM property in Sleepy Hollow. SunCal is partnering with Environmental Liability Transfer Corporation, an environmental remediation firm, that would engage in the actual remediation. If the ARC and SunCal come to terms, SunCal will become the owner and primary developer for ARC’s current 28 acres of the waterfront, as well as responsible for the remediation. (ARC retains the ultimate liability for the clean-up into perpetuity but has the right to pass the role of carrying out the actual clean-up to another firm.)
This is an important moment for ARC and the Village as the two parties progress toward the clean-up and ultimate reuse of the waterfront. ARC is completing its remediation engineering design, and this announcement is the next step leading to a potential agreement with the company that will carry out the remediation and development of the waterfront.
The Village’s new Waterfront Rezoning Committee (WRC) has begun its efforts to set a plan and zoning for the waterfront. The WRC is engaging a team from the Pace University Land Use Law Center, headed by the respected Professor John Nolon who specializes in land use planning and intermediating between developers and communities, to set the parameters and process for how the WRC will engage developers in the rezoning effort. This work is underway and will seek to establish the ground rules for how a developer would participate in the rezoning process. The Village will engage SunCal once Professor Nolon and the WRC have established a framework for how to proceed.
The Village, ARC, Riverkeeper and the DEC have worked cooperatively to move the complex remediation effort forward while protecting the health and well-being of the Village and Hudson River. The Village will continue to pursue an environmentally responsible remediation, appropriate zoning, and, ultimately, fitting development that will meet the Village’s goals which include fiscal prudence, river and park amenities, and responsible development densities that do not over-impact Village services. We look forward to working toward a mutually beneficial result.
Peter Swiderski
Mayor