Part 1: Simon Continues 'Shops at Nanuet' Talk with Clarkstown

The Clarkstown Planning Board and other Clarkstown officials continued discussions with Simon Property Group, Inc. on the transformation of the Nanuet Mall into ‘The Shops at Nanuet’ at a Planning Board meeting Wednesday night at Clarkstown Town Hall. The public hearing was preceded by an informal, informational presentation by Simon to the Town Council for about 30 minutes.

That was open to the public, but no questions were taken because of a time constraint. At the public hearing with the planning board, only one question was made on behalf of a commenter from a previous Patch article:

“Can someone inquire whether the handprints and initials saved in concrete of 100 children in attendance at the grand opening in 1969 will be restored and preserved?”

Answer: Yes it will be preserved and restored. It will be preserved and placed into storage during the demolition and be implemented into the new ‘Shops at Nanuet’. Sam Fattah, vice president of project management, said they had not yet decided how and where the handprints will be reinstalled.

The first part of the meeting dealt with a review of the amended site plan and that portion ended with a motion to continue discussions on the site developments.

The second part was a review of moving Banchetto Feast. The site plan shows that Banchetto Feast will move from inside the mall to a single-story stand-alone building on the outskirts of the property.

It will be relocated at the north end of the site on Middletown Road with 72 parking spaces on 1.11 acres. The Planning Board approved the outparcel move at last night’s meeting.

Tom Schneider, executive vice president of development for Simon and Ira Emanuel of the Law Office of Ira M. Emanuel, P.C. in New City, were the two representatives that spoke on The Shops at Nanuet.

The Change: By the Numbers

Simon plans to change the Nanuet Mall into The Shops at Nanuet, an open air Main Street concept.

“We’re trying to replicate a downtown experience ... in a contained space,” said Schneider.

Read more about these changes in this detailing the October informational meeting. All figures are approximate

• 60.98—acres of zoned land that Simon is working with
• 1 million—square footage of the existing structures at the Nanuet Mall.
• 660,000—square footage that will be demolished, which includes 2-story indoor retail mall and parking deck)
• 400,000—square footage of structures that will remain standing, which includes Macy’s, Sears and Sears Auto Center
• 747,500—square footage of total space to be constructed. This will be the 2-story outdoor retail mall.
• Parking spaces will also be reconfigured.
• 18%—The Shops at Nanuet will have 18 percent less square footage of what exists on the property today
• 30%— The Shops at Nanuet will have 30* percent less square footage of gross floor area that exists on the property today
• 4200—parking spaces at the Nanuet Mall
• 3400—parking spaces at The Shops at Nanuet
• 1037—trees needed to meet Clarkstown's Tree Preservation Plan
• 50%—Only half of the required trees are proposed so additional trees are needed

Progress

The site plan drawing that was brought to the October informational meeting is the one that Simon discussed last night.

“The plan … is the current development plan,” said Schneider. “We are through schematic design; we are through design development and we have commenced our working drawings on the architectural side.”

“On the civil side, we’re virtually done and that’s what’s been submitted for review here,” said Schneider. “It meets the codes and guidelines required by the department store tenants and the general retail tenants at large. We’re preceding down the path with leasing … and with our plan.”

Timeline

Schneider quickly went through the timeline for the demolition and construction:

• “We plan to submit our (demolition) application in a week,” said Fattah.
• December 2011—Hazardous material and abatement work. A chainlink fence will be put up signifying the beginning of this interior work at which time no one will be allowed to enter the work area.
• Jan. 1, 2012—Demolition
• March 1, 2012—Actual site work
• Mid-Summer 2012—Building/Construction
• September/October 2013—The Shops at Nanuet will be open

“The demolition was to begin in the fall and we’re now at Nov. 30,” said Shirley Thormann, chairperson of the planning board.

“Demolition is later than we have hoped,” said Schneider. “Most of that was due to continued, and now completed, negotiations with the department stores because they are owners of this property and have the right to have certain rights that we have to satisfy. That is behind us now.”

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This is part 1 of a 2-part series on Wednesday’s meeting between Simon and the Clarkstown planning board. Check back with Patch for part 2, which will look at concerns at possible delays to the timeline and town comments followed by responses from Simon on issues from traffic flow and pedestrian walkways to snowfall and the Park and Ride.

*A typo was fixed. It read 18 when it should have been 30