Editor’s note: This press release was provided by Village of Pelham Mayor Chance Mullen.

I’m writing to invite you to a Special Presentation on Downtown Development, on Tuesday, March 10th, at 7:30pm, at the Local Branch, located at 200 Fifth Avenue.

As I mentioned in my Summer Message, our deteriorating infrastructure is the single greatest challenge our community is facing today. Our firehouse, the nearby parking garage, our police station, and Village Hall are all in need of significant investment which would cost Village taxpayers approximately $17.4 million in upfront expense, an amount equal to nearly 115% of our annual operating budget.

For the last 11 months, the Village has been negotiating the terms of a partnership with a private developer (Pelham House, LLC) which would resolve these issues at no cost to taxpayers while simultaneously revitalizing a critically important section of our downtown. I am excited to announce that we have reached a tentative agreement.

As part of the agreement, Pelham House would purchase $6.8 million worth of Village-owned land in exchange for nearly $15 million in immediate public improvements, including the construction of a LEED Gold consolidated municipal services center, dedicated public parking, and cash payments toward a host of Village priorities. Pelham House would also build a private mixed-use building across from the Pelham Art Center that would generate local tax revenue of $800,000 in the first year with approximately $13.6 million for our school district over the next 20 years.

During the presentation, I will provide an overview of the Village’s strategy on downtown revitalization and an update on other developments we’ve approved in recent years. Representatives from Pelham House will present their proposal and I will walk you through the 14 key priorities pursued by our negotiating committee, which included parking capacity, school impact, affordability, tax relief for our residents, and environmental stewardship, among others.

If you are unable to attend, you will still have plenty of opportunities to learn about this important project. The Village Board will discuss this again on March 24^th and 31^st, and representatives from Pelham House will be hosting drop-in sessions at the Local Branch throughout the month of March for residents to meet with their team and learn more about their project (full schedule below). If the Board decides to proceed with this agreement, Pelham House would commence a full site plan approval process starting in early May with comprehensive reviews by the Architectural Review Board and Planning Board.

Thank you for your patience and support throughout this process and thank you to all those who have contributed to this effort so far. I look forward to sharing the details with you all soon. I hope you can make it.