Sound Shore

LARCHMONT — A developer says he hopes to create more affordable housing for middle-income families by converting a market-rate project approved in 2008 into lower-cost condominiums.

But some residents who objected to the original condo plan say they have lingering concerns about the new one.

Elmsford-based Wilder Balter Partners plans to develop 51 units of affordable housing near the Palmer Avenue train station, using the project already approved by the village planning board two years ago. Westchester would help finance the new $21 million project with a nearly $6 million grant, part of a deal that would help the county satisfy a federal housing desegregation settlement.

The project, to be built on a 1.5-acre site at 2101 – 2105 Palmer Avenue, would consist of two Tudor-style buildings with three residential floors above a ground-level parking area, said William Balter, president of the Elmsford-based builder, who spoke about the project at a meeting at village hall Monday night.

The complex would have 41 two-bedroom units with an average price of $229,000, and 10 one-bedroom units costing, on average, $160,000.

Those eligible to own the housing may earn up to 80 percent of area median income, which is about $105,000 a year for a family of four.

“We’re talking about selling to middle-class people,” like teachers, police and other municipal employees, Balter said. “This is not what we call low-income housing.”

Esposito Builders originally planned to build 51 units at the site, with 46 to be sold at market rate and the remaining five set aside for moderate-income occupants who work in Larchmont. The Peekskill-based developer won approval for that plan from the village in 2008. But it later decided to sell the property to Wilder Balter amid economic uncertainty.

Wilder Balter now plans to build all 51 units as affordable.

The project does not need additional approval from the village, as the building plans are largely unchanged from 2008, officials said.

The original project drew opposition from a neighborhood group, The Concerned Citizen of Larchmont, which cited concerns about congestion, stormwater runoff and increases in school enrollment.

Coolidge Street resident Laura Sprengelmeyer on Monday said she still worries about traffic problems, adding that the village’s original traffic study is “well over three years old.”

Balter said there are no plans for a new traffic study.

Eileen Gerspach of Stuyvesant Avenue was concerned tax revenues from the new residences would not be enough to cover the cost of educating its school-age residents, an issue that came up before.

Balter said he expects tax revenues for schools generated by the new development to be “comparable” to the $134,000-a-year figure that village officials had estimated for the old project.

That would be enough to offset the cost of educating up to a half-dozen students in the Mamaroneck schools system, which spends about  $20,000 per pupil.

Addressing concerns about runoff, Balter said the new development would be equipped with an “immense” underground stormwater-management system.

The Westchester County Board of Legislators has to approve funding before the project can move forward. If approved, construction would likely begin next spring and would take 12 – 18 months to complete.

LARCHMONT — A developer planning to build 51 units of affordable housing near the Palmer Avenue train station will give a presentation about the project at tonight’s village Board of Trustees meeting.

Westchester County is working with Elmsford-based builder Wilder Balter Partners to develop the new units at 2101-2105 Palmer Avenue, using a project already approved in 2008. The development will help the county meet the requirements of a federal housing desegregation settlement.

Previously, developer Esposito Builders had planned to build 51 units at the site, with 46 to be sold at market rate and the remaining five set aside for moderate-income tenants who work in Larchmont.

The Peekskill-based developer won approval from the Planning Board for that plan in 2008, but later decided to sell the property amid economic uncertainty.

Wilder, the buyer, now plans to build all 51 units as affordable.

The original project drew opposition from a neighborhood group, The Concerned Citizens of Larchmont, which cited potential congestion, stormwater runoff, increases in school enrollment and limited parking. The revised project does not need additional board approval, officials said.

Last year, Westchester agreed to spend $52 million on building 750 affordable-housing units in mostly white, affluent areas after the Anti-Discrimination Center sued the county, accusing it of accepting federal housing aid without building affordable units in those communities.

Residents can learn more about the affordable-housing project at the meeting tonight at 7 p.m. at 120 Larchmont Ave.

Attorney James Johnson, the court-appointed monitor overseeing Westchester’s implementation of a fair-housing settlement, spoke Wednesday in an Editorial Spotlight interview on LoHud.com about the court case that gave rise to the agreement, Westchester County’s plans to site and build 750 units of affordable housing, and the “tone at the top” set by County Executive Rob Astorino’s administration. Here’s a video of the complete session:

He has been in the middle of a storm. Attorney James E. Johnson, the court-appointed monitor in Westchester’s fair-housing/False Claims Act case, will appear in an Editorial Spotlight interview 11 a.m. today on LoHud.com.

Over the next seven years, Westchester must build 750 units of affordable housing, most of them in overwhelmingly white communities that have long shunned or discouraged such housing.

The obligation arises from a controversial settlement and consent decree brokered last year by the Spano administration and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and approved by the U.S. District Court. HUD entered the case after the nonprofit Anti-Discrimination Center of New York, a fair-housing group, successfully argued in a lawsuit that Westchester had failed to discharge its fair-housing obligations, despite accepting millions of dollars in federal funds and pledging that it had.

Under the agreement, the county must affirmatively market the units in Westchester and nearby communities with large nonwhite populations, though the housing will be available to all income-eligible populations. Johnson recently told the federal court that the county’s most recent plan for implementing terms of the consent decree “falls short of a true plan to comply with either the stipulation’s specific terms or its overarching goal of building a more integrated Westchester.”

Watch the interview at www.LoHud.com/editorialspotlight; to submit a question during the LIVE interview, engage the CoverItLive feature on the computer screen.

Attorney James E. Johnson, the court-appointed monitor in Westchester’s fair housing/False Claims Act case, will appear in an Editorial Spotlight interview 11 a.m. Wednesday on LoHud.com.

Over the next seven years, Westchester must build 750 units of affordable housing, most of them in overwhelmingly white communities that have long shunned or discouraged such housing. The obligation arises from a consent degree brokered last year by the Spano administration and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and approved by the U.S. District Court. HUD entered the case after the nonprofit Anti-Discrimination Center of New York, a fair housing group, successfully argued in a lawsuit that Westchester had failed to discharge its fair housing obligations, despite accepting millions of dollars in federal funds and pledging that it had.

Under the agreement, the county must affirmatively market the units in Westchester and nearby communities with large non-white populations, though the housing will be available to all income-eligible populations. Johnson recently told the federal court that the county’s most recent plan for implementing terms of the consent decree “falls short of a true plan to comply with either the stipulation’s specific terms or its overarching goal of building a more integrated Westchester.”

Watch the interview at www.lohud.com/editorialspotlight; to submit a question during the interview, engage the CoverItLive feature on the right side of your screen.

The Editorial Board held an Editorial Spotlight interview with Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino on Wednesday. The discussion focused on Astorino’s announcement that he is seeking to merge the public safety and emergency services departments, the projected deficit for 2011, Astorino’s struggles with the Board of Legislators, the future of Playland and Astorino’s standing on affordable housing. Here are some highlight reels, followed by a complete version of the session.

On the merger of public safety and emergency services: