WPCNR THE DEVELOPING NEWS. By John F. Bailey. December 12, 2007: Council President Rita Malmud in a statement to the CitizeNetReporter today said she saw no need for a multi-million dollar feasibility study of the White Plains TranscitCenter area, and called instead for essentially citizen input only first and not a developer's vision for the area.
Ms. Malmud's vision on how the city should proceed on the development of the railroad station properties was sought by WPCNR after The Mayor's Office announced The Journal News reporter, Keith Eddings, that Mayor Joseph Delfino was halting the Request for Qualifications review that began Monday evening, and might invite developers to submit proposals independently. A WPCNR request for a statement from City Hall on where development of the station stood has not been answered as of high noon today.
The Request for Qualifications meetings scheduled for Monday and December 20 began with Monday’s presentations by Reckson/S.L. Green and Archstone-Smith/Tishman Speyer. Councilpersons Malmud, Benjamin Boykin, Dennis Power and Thomas Roach did not have any questions for the two developers. Only Councilman Glen Hockley asked why the two presenters wanted to develop and asserted the local neighborhoods needed to be consulted.
After the meeting, Councilman Thomas Roach sought WPCNR out and announced to me “We have not changed our position (on the RFQ).” I asked him what he meant by that and Roach told me the council was not going to participate in the process. I asked him why then did the council waste the two developers’ time? Roach said it was not wasting developers’ time and that his other three colleagues present with the exception of Councilman Hockley were not going to ask questions either because they did not believe the process was correct. He said it was not a waste of time, but educational to hear the developers. Prior to the meeting beginning, the Council members objecting to the process made no indication they were not approaching the meeting in good faith.
What is it they want Asks a Bewildered Wood
The Mayor’s Office and the Common Council had a misunderstanding. When WPCNR approached Paul Wood, the Mayor’s Executive Officer, and informed him of Roach’s unsolicited comments to WPCNR, Wood expressed shock, saying the council had been contacted and told of the meetings and had given no indication they were not interested in hearing who had stepped forward. Asked if the city would move forward and go ahead with the second meeting scheduled for the 20th Monday night, Wood said they would. Wood said he was mystified by the council attitude. “First, they rejected the Exclusivity Agreement (proposed by Cappelli Enterprises), because they said they wanted competition for the site. So we sent out a Request for Qualifications, and now they say they won’t listen to four organizations because of the process. I don’t understand what these people want.”
Today, the Mayor’s Office has announced the RFQ process has been cancelled according to Mr. Eddings’ report.
WPCNR asked Council President Rita Malmud if the council would authorize the city spending $3 Million and up to prepare an environmental study on the station, which Commissioner of Planning Susan Habel recommends to determine the extend of development the site can support.
Neighbors Before Study, Malmud Says
Malmud sees no need for the study. Instead, she called for neighborhood input only to determine what should go at the station in this written statement:
In response to your question, I believe the 7 people comprising the Common Council and leading the City need a wide-ranging discussion and eventual consensus on the broad parameters of what changes ALL neighborhoods and residents in WP would like AND what might be practical in the railroad station area BEFORE millions of $ on studies is spent or solid links forged with any one developer. Ample opportunity for direct resident input into the whole process is crucial. We need to have a clearer sense of unified direction before we pursue commitment.
The Developer's Waltz Stops
The Mayor’s Office is reported by Mr. Eddings as saying he will seek separate proposals for each of the city owned lots around the station rather than an overall proposal.The city will also examine how other cities have developed station areas. Wood is quoted as saying, “there was a very large misunderstanding on the part of the administration of what the council was signaling us to do following the Louis Cappelli presentation.”
The mayor’s reported decision to seek development lot by lot may slam the door on the glamour developer, Archstone Smith/Tishman Speyer who are developing two major multi lot projects in the Nation’s Capitol, which they showcased Monday evening.
Eddings story also reports that the other two developers have cancelled their appearances based on the lack of council interest in the presentations of Reckson/S. L. Green and Archstone Smith/Tishman Speyer. When that happened, Eddings reports, the Mayor ended the RFQ process.
