By Joseph Morales

        The City of Yonkers is the 3rd most populous city in New York State only behind Buffalo and of course New York City. Getty Square also known as Downtown Yonkers contains a wide range of businesses and residences. There is an abundance of retail and restaurants as well as a growing arts, nightlife and tourism scene. Many city and county offices such as city courts and social services offices are located here as well.  After several decades of disinvestment, Yonkers has taken many steps to revitalize the Downtown which include but are not limited to, 1,000 new waterfront apartments, a state of the art Riverfront library, the restoration of the Yonkers Metro-North Train Station, a revitalized City Pier and countless other projects that have revitalized Getty Square into the vibrant Downtown it was once was and will continue to be. These developments are centered around strong connections to transportation. The Yonkers Metro-North Railroad Station as well as 20 different Westchester County Bee-Line bus routes as well as convenient vehicular access to the Cross County and Saw Mill River Parkways.  With the Metro-North, riders can get to Grand Central Terminal within 30 minutes as well as along the Hudson River up to Poughkeepsie. With Getty Square being one of the most booming downtowns in Westchester County, this neighborhood continues to grow through transit-oriented development.

             The newest proposals for transit-oriented development in the Downtown Yonkers area build off of multiple projects that have paved the way for continued transit-oriented development in Downtown Yonkers. One of these is the Saw Mill River Daylighting, which in 2010 uncovered a portion of the Saw Mill River that passes through Getty Square that had previously been covered by a flume and paved over for the around the previous 90 years. Now, the area surrounding the river which is adjacent to the Yonkers MNR station as well as Larkin Plaza mixed-use complex has been turned into a stunning natural beauty. The daylighting includes a park known as Van Der Donck Park around the water that includes mini-walk bridges where people can enjoy the views of the water as well as some information signs that inform visitors about the river. The project also created a natural habitat for migratory fish passage that focuses on American eel, white perch and herring that migrate into open ponds and rest in riffle areas, so the project has also had a very positive impact on not just the urban environment but the natural ecosystems surrounding it too. Also created was the Mill Street Courtyard that is a 20,000 sq ft piazza style area within the Downtown as part of Phase 2 of the daylighting project. Phase 3 of the Saw Mill River Daylighting included opening a similar park to the Van der Donck Park at what is known as the Chicken Island site at Nepperhan Ave/New Main St on the southwestern corner of the Chicken Island Lot. Phase 4 will also continue daylighting the river throughout the Chicken Island lot.

Daylighted Saw Mill River at Van der Donck Park in front of Yonkers MNR stationhouse.

Daylighted Saw Mill River in Van der Donck Park adjacent to Larkin Plaza.

Walkbridge over daylighted Saw Mill River at Van Der Donck park

Entrance to Mill Street Courtyard in Downtown Yonkers

                 As previously stated, the mixed-use complex Larkin Plaza sits adjacent to Van der Donck Park as well as the Yonkers MNR station. Larkin Plaza is one of the largest projects in Downtown Yonkers and includes 438 apartments along with 35,000 sq ft of space for retail and restaurant uses. The apartments are in two towers of both 25 and 17 stories respectively. The towers share an outdoor rooftop terrace with an amphitheater and movie screen. In addition, indoor amenities include lobby and concierge services, state of the art resident lounges with media centers and more.   A two-story building near Van Der Donck Park provides the bulk of the commercial space in the complex. Parking is provided in a separate three-story building with a capacity of 539 vehicles.

                These two projects have set the table for what is to come in Getty Square or Downtown Yonkers. Now, the city has enlisted AMS Acquisitions LLC to construct three major projects that will include a grand total of 3,500 apartments, almost 4,000 parking spaces and 4.5 million square feet of new construction to Getty Square. The development will be located at the Chicken Island, Teutonia and North Broadway sites.

               Chicken Island is a massive land parcel that is currently a parking lot located with Nepperhan Ave to the South, New School St to the east, Palisade Ave to the north and Locust Hill Rd to the west. The site that has been sought for development for years, is set to include six buildings varying in height between 25 and 400 feet with about 2,000 multi-family apartments and 240 affordable units in 1,700,000 square feet in residential space, 70,000 square feet in retail, 17,000 square feet of office space and 2,200 parking spaces. 

View inside of Chicken Island parking lot in Downtown Yonkers.

                The Teutonia Hall site which is around Buena Vista Ave between Hudson St and Prospect St just blocks from the Yonkers MNR station will see two 40-story residential towers with about 906 luxury multi-family units and 109 affordable units in 770,100 square feet of residential space along with 10,000 square feet of office space and 956 parking spaces.

View inside of what will be Teutonia site.

                The North Broadway site that is located around North Broadway and in the vicinity of and along Baldwin Pl, Overlook Ter and Locust Ave. The site will include two 23-story buildings about 300 feet in height, The project will also be a mixed-use project that includes about 650 residential units, about 78 affordable units, about 17,000 square feet of retail space, about 21,000 of office space and about 750 parking spaces.

                 This most recent plan is just the latest in what has been a countless number of projects built to revitalize Downtown Yonkers since the late 2000’s. These projects will be at the forefront of Downtown Yonkers for years to come. 

Works Cited

The City Of Yonkers. “Downtown Revitalization Initiative Application.” ny.gov, 2018, https://www.ny.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/Yonkers_C_DRI_THREE.pdf. Accessed 31 October 2022

Katz, Peter. “EXCLUSIVE: Massive development for downtown Yonkers unveiled.” Westfair Communications, 19 October 2020, https://westfaironline.com/real-estate/new-development-for-downtown-yonkers-unveiled/. Accessed 31 October 2022.

Yonkers Committee For Smart Development. “YCSD: Development in Yonkers.” Yonkers Committee for Smart Development, https://www.yonkers-csd.org/development-in-yonkers. Accessed 31 October 2022.

Lee & Associates. Larkin Plaza | Yonkers, NY. 2019. loopnet.com, https://images1.loopnet.com/d2/Qpk1oMptPSOwVaiTDmpPMI58BNXKDUWCNYY2NpCl1yQ/document.pdf.

“Phase III of Saw Mill River Daylighting Officially Opens.” Yonkers Tribune., 17 November 2018, https://www.yonkerstribune.com/2018/11/phase-iii-of-saw-mill-river-daylighting-officially-opens. Accessed 2 November 2022.
Saraniero, Nicole, and Noah Sheidlower. “Explore the Stunning Daylighted Saw Mill River in Yonkers.” Untapped New York, 19 May 2020, https://untappedcities.com/2020/05/19/explore-the-stunning-daylighted-saw-mill-river-in-yonkers/. Accessed 2 November 2022.