Housing Company Wants To Move Quickly In Chappaqua

CHAPPAQUA, N.Y. – A second affordable housing proposal in Chappaqua will move quickly, or not at all.

Mountco Construction and Development Corp. has small funding windows for the project and cannot afford to wait, representatives said Tuesday night during a work session with the New Castle Town Board.

“With the high demand for senior living, we want to move this project along as quickly as possible,” said John Madeo, executive vice president of Mountco. “If this is not your cup of tea, we’ll be very happy to move onto another community.”

Madeo said Mountco has two opportunities in October and November to apply for funding from New York State Homes and Community Renewal under its Tax Credits/Housing Trust Fund programs.

Tuesday night was a chance for Mountco to gauge the early interest in the project from community members and town officials. Madeo will return at a later date, and if there is support for the project he will begin drawing up an application for the 41,000-square-foot building at 495 King St.

“We’d like to come back in the future and see what type of support you can give us,” he said.

Chappaqua resident Will Wedge said he doesn’t know if he is for or against the site plan at this point, but he applauded Mountco’s candor and called its approach a “breath of fresh air.” Many residents have criticized another affordable housing proposal by Conifer Realty.

Mountco's proposal includes 40 rental units for seniors, a community room, a garden, a laundry room and 40 on-site parking spaces accessed from Memorial Drive. The building would be for households with incomes of 30 percent to 60 percent of the Westchester County median. Units would rent for $600 to $1,000 per month, according to the proposal dated Aug. 2.

Mountco does not discriminate against any person applying for a unit, but Madeo said the company “markets very aggressively locally.” He said 85 percent to 90 percent of its tenants are people who live in the community or have a relative in the community.

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