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Developer Presents Chappaqua Hamlet Revitalization Concept

CHAPPAQUA, N.Y. – Longtime New Castle resident and developer Chuck Napoli has updated his plan to transform the Hamlet of Chappaqua’s downtown experience.

Chuck Napoli, front, presents his Chappaqua Hamlet Revitalization Concept plan to the New Castle Planning Board on Tuesday night at the New Castle Town Hall.

Chuck Napoli, front, presents his Chappaqua Hamlet Revitalization Concept plan to the New Castle Planning Board on Tuesday night at the New Castle Town Hall.

Photo Credit: Michael Nocella

Napoli, who last gave a presentation on his vision to the New Castle Town Board in October, presented new details to the Planning Board on Tuesday night at New Castle Town Hall. He also outlined what next step needs to be taken.

“It will be a park once, shop a lot experience,” said Napoli.

The proposal includes building a retail and residential development with 389 parking spaces on the municipal parking lot behind South Greeley Avenue. That would be an increase of 200 spaces. An athletic field next to Bell Middle School that is owned by the Chappaqua School District would be replaced with a state-of-the-art playing field.

The commercial space would consist of a 16,770-square-foot shopping market, a 7,000-square-foot performance arts theater, 20 to 40 apartments and a European-style marketplace with a total of 31,000 square feet of space. 

“For five centuries, this business structure has proven to work,” said John Ehrlich, who is helping Napoli present the plan. “You center around the market and build from there.”

The concept’s strengths would include an emphasis on foot traffic over automobiles, market-rate housing and making Chappaqua a more dynamic destination.

When asked how much the project would cost, Napoli offered an estimated figure that no one on the Planning Board will soon forget: $40 million.

Napoli eased some concerns by saying the project would be backed 40 percent by the bank and 60 percent by investors. He said he had support from both of those parties all but lined up.

The presentation concluded as Napoli told the board his next step will be to present the plan to property owners the concept would affect, including the Chappaqua Central School District's Board of Education.

“I’m excited to see more details unfold,” Planning Board Chair Richard Brownwell said. “This was a great presentation and is very interesting.”

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