By Joseph Morales

White Plains is the County Seat of Westchester County which is a densely populated suburban county north of New York City home to about 1 million residents.  It is also has a population of around 60,000 and is a major reverse commute destination. Thus, it is no surprise that Downtown White Plains has been one of the county’s major commercial centers known for its plethora of retail, dining and entertainment options as well as offices; including government offices and the offices of major corporations. 

                     It is also one of the main transit hubs in Westchester County, being served by many Bee-Line Bus routes that traverse the county as well as a CTTransit bus to Stamford, CT as well as several HudsonLink bus routes to Rockland County. In addition, it is home to the White Plains Metro-North(MNR) station, which provides both local and express service on the MNR Harlem Line to Grand Central Terminal in Midtown Manhattan as well as as far north as Wassaic, New York in Dutchess County. The station is about 40 minutes to Grand Central Terminal, making Manhattan very accessible from White Plains. Given the amount of activity in White Plains as well as proximity to other activity centers throughout the region including NYC, White Plains is the busiest MNR station in Westchester County and is one of the busiest MNR stations in the Metro-North system.

                        With all of these favorable transportation connections, White Plains wants to capitalize on it by developing a transit-oriented development(TOD) scheme that will help to increase economic growth and liveliness in the Downtown area. They will do this by creating a transit district in the immediate vicinity of the White Plains MNR station that emphasizes the principles of quality placemaking, open space, cycling/pedestrian infrastructure, sound economic development and parking. 

While it will be a transit district, it is important to note that 85% of Westchester County households have access to at least on private vehicle according to the Westchester County Mobility and Transit Plan YouTube video. Thus, access to parking may be critical to encouraging residents with vehicles to take mass transit to commute or for other purposes. It is also worth noting that many areas near the transit district do not have a convenient or frequent bus route to the station, so driving and parking is may be many people’s preference in order to catch a bus or train in the transit district. Having parking access can also encourage trips to White Plains along with other places. For instance, a family may park in White Plains to go shopping before taking a Metro-North train to see a play or visit a museum in Manhattan.

                          The other principles are essentially what most people will think about when they think about transit-oriented development. White Plains has already made some progress on improving cycling/pedestrian infrastructure throughout the district such as launching a bike share program, more visible crosswalks adjacent to the TransCenter, protected bike lanes on Martine Ave and more. 

                          The most visible principles of the plan are the placemaking and open space principles. Placemaking is the formation of a lively mixed-use area with a variety of land uses and artwork to create a pleasant experience for visitors. The city had designated four development parcels in the transit center as part of its RFP(Request For Proposals) for TOD in the area. Of the three four parcels included along Bank Street and Ferris Avenue two of them are pakring lots, one is a municipal parkade and another is a firehouse with limited private surface parking. According to the RFP, a new firehouse would have to be constructed in the immediate area before the current one could be demolished and/or redeveloped to make way for new land uses.

Parking Lot of White Plains MNR station is one of the land parcels the City Of White Plains is considering for development.

Large parkade in which the City of White Plains is considering for development.

In what ways the city plans for developers to “maintain and maximize existing commuter parking capacity using district-wide solutions” as stated in the RFP, while redeveloping some of the core parking facilities in the transit center to uses that may attract more vehicular traffic in addition to transit riders is unclear. Developers may propose things like parking within developments in order to address this principle if demolishing exiting parking. However, many who uses mass transit to get around as well as others may be happy to see such facilities be redeveloped into mixed-use facilities everyone can benefit from.

                          Each parcel is zoned by the City of White Plains as CB-4(Core Business) enabling practically any type of facility on the parcels such as retail stores, residential buildings ,entertainment centers, offices and more. The zoning code also allows for residential high rises of 230-280 feet to be built on sites greater than 50,000 sq ft and where 50% of the floor area is residential. The city has requested that any development done at the parcel which is a parking lot for the MNR station allow for or enhance access to the station for all modes of transportation such as drop-offs and taxis.                      

                        Even though development has not yet started on the parcels of interest, there is still some construction occurring in the transit district that supports the goals of the city’s strategic plan and RFP.. One of which is a residential high-rise directly adjacent to the TransCenter at 25 N Lexington Ave bordered by Ferris Ave to the West, Water St to the North and New St to the South. It will include 500 luxury residential apartments, 19,000 sq ft of retail space on the ground level along with 60,000 square feet of unique amenities such as a children’s room, study room, a golf simulator, multiple roof decks and so much more. As stated by a poster on the worksite, residences will begin opening in 2024.

25 N Lexington Ave as seen from White Plains MNR station.

Sign at 25 N Lexington Ave indicating that residences will begin opening in 2024.

Just outside of the transit district, the site of the now demolished White Plains Mall which is about a 5 min walk from the MNR station will become home to a $650 million redevelopment known as Hamilton Green that will include four mixed-income residential buildings with a total of 860 residential rental units with 78 affordable units combined with accessible open space in addition to a selection of commercial, retail and dining spaces. A 515 underground and a 441 space parking garage will also be constructed at different phases of the project, which will help increase parking capacity for the broader Downtown White Plains community even if the parking is limited to visitors and residents as these people are less likely to need street parking. There are many other mixed-use developments being planned or constructed in the Downtown White Plains area such as at the site of the current Galleria Mall and the former Westchester Pavillion malls.

Site of former White Plains Mall which is being constructed into Hamilton Green.

 As can be seen right before the eyes of residents, visitors, developers, business owners and city leaders alike, TOD is already being realized in Downtown White Plains. As important as the actual development is to the success of TOD, the MTA helped the city improve its first impression to MNR riders by completing a total renovation of the White Plains MNR station in 2021. The four-year $95 million renovation included modern glass entrances, a widened lobby, new waiting rooms, artwork, better lighting and so much more. Quality station environments are critical to making a good first impression on visitors to a city, as it is often the first thing they see upon entry. In addition, the Westchester County Planning Department is working on a Conceptual Planning and Design Project to improve the passenger experience inside the White Plains TransCenter. 

As the station improvement projects and first development projects pave the way, the City of White Plains is about to enter a new era with transit-oriented development.

Signage for renovated White Plains station.

Lobby of White Plains MNR Station.

New waiting rooms inside of White Plains MNR station.

Outside of White Plains TransCenter

Bus shelters at White Plains TransCenter

People boarding the Bee-Line 40 bus inside of the White Plains TransCenter.

Works Cited

“Department of Planning – Transportation Planning – Projects and Studies.” Westchester County Department of Planning, https://planning.westchestergov.com/transportation-planning/projects-and-studies. Accessed 7 January 2023.

“REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.” City of White Plains, 4 June 2019, https://www.cityofwhiteplains.com/DocumentCenter/View/5148/FINAL-RFP. Accessed 7 January 2023.

“Greystar breaks ground on transformative 500-unit rental in downtown White Plains, New York.” Real Estate Weekly, 7 March 2022, https://rew-online.com/greystar-breaks-ground-on-transformative-500-unit-rental-in-downtown-white-plains-new-york/. Accessed 7 January 2023.

“RXR and The Cappelli Organization Break Ground on Hamilton Green: Former White Plains Mall to Transform into Mixed-Use, Transit-Oriented $650 Million Development.” Real Estate Weekly, 13 December 2022, https://rew-online.com/rxr-and-the-cappelli-organization-break-ground-on-hamilton-green-former-white-plains-mall-to-transform-into-mixed-use-transit-oriented-650-million-development/. Accessed 7 January 2023.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority. “ICYMI: Governor Hochul Announces Renewal of White Plains Metro-North Station.” MTA, 1 November 2021, https://new.mta.info/press-release/icymi-governor-hochul-announces-renewal-of-white-plains-metro-north-station. Accessed 7 January 2023.

“Bike White Plains | White Plains, NY – Official Website.” City of White Plains, https://www.cityofwhiteplains.com/371/Bike-White-Plains. Accessed 7 January 2023.

“U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Westchester County, New York.” U.S. Census Bureau, 2022, https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/westchestercountynewyork. Accessed 7 January 2023.

“Background & Process.” Westchester County Mobility and Transit Plan, 17 August 2022, https://www.westchestermobility.org/project-background. Accessed 7 January 2023.