Camarda seeks input on new plan
The Journal News
2/25/2008
MAHOPAC - A local developer who has tackled large
senior-citizen housing complexes, retail shopping
centers and luxury homes has a new project for Mahopac
- and he is soliciting opinions from his prospective
neighbors.
"I want to make residents part of the process," said
Paul Camarda, whose offices overlook tranquil Lake
Gleneida in the center of Carmel. He has brought
plush housing subdivisions and senior-citizen complexes
to Putnam during his tenure locally.
He presented the Carmel Town Board earlier this
month with preliminary plans for a mix of retail,
commercial space and apartment housing on 300 acres
off Route 6 at Baldwin Place Road, near the Putnam-Westchester
border.
"It is a union of a lot of different uses where
Putnam meets Westchester," he said.
Plans show Union Place, its working name, as having
small shops and a variety of retailers in a village-like
core off a central roadway. That would be surrounded
by rental apartments and business offices for professionals
like architects, engineers and lawyers. Added components
include adult recreation such as biking and hiking,
restaurants and cafes, and possibly some for-sale
townhouses.
There will be no single-family houses, said Camarda,
emphasizing "there are enough in the town."
By the end of this week, he plans to mail a 12-question
survey to Carmel property owners asking them what
they would want to see on the site. He said he is
ready for any and all comments, but will ask respondents
to identify the type of retailer they would want
- from an Ann Taylor or Talbots to a Williams-Sonoma
or Apple computer store.
He also wants to find out what kind of eating establishments
people favor and if a mix of specialty gourmet and
coffee bars would be of interest. He explained that
the mixture of retail, commercial, entertainment
and housing units will space out the use of parking
lots and roadways throughout the week and during
varied time periods.
Nearby resident Kathy Lavezzo said she wants to
know more about the project since Route 6 is already
full of large stores, like an A&P supermarket,
health clubs, a town senior-citizen center and senior-citizen
housing.
She already has some some opinions and apprehensions
about the large project.
"I wouldn't mind some of the retail and small
stores, but I would be concerned about constant traffic," said
the eight-year resident of Society Hill, a condominium
complex that could become adjacent to Union Place.
Lavezzo said she would be against a movie theater
or late-night activity that might draw teens to hang
out in the evenings. She said she already hears nighttime
noise from the A&P parking lot and would not
want more.
Carmel Supervisor Ken Schmitt said the project would
create jobs and provide a local destination for shoppers
who have been heading to Westchester and Danbury,
Conn.
"I am extremely thrilled. It will generate
tremendous revenues for our town and the county," he
said, and "take some burdens off taxpayers."
Camarda began purchasing land in southern Mahopac
in 1996. After at least five acquisitions, and contracts
in place to buy Mahopac Farm and the neighboring
Mobil gas station close to Baldwin Place Road in
the next two years, he will have at least 300 contiguous
acres.
The property will be one of his largest sites. It
will sit near Somers Commons, a major retail shopping
center, and near a Somers project that also blends
together retail with residential in a village concept,
but has housing for older adults and large retailers.
"Everything will be built around a village
core - the village will serve as the pulse of the
project," said the outgoing developer, who seems
to love juggling many projects. He said this one
would cost "hundreds of millions of dollars" to
build.
He has plans for two other centers outside Carmel
- Patterson Crossing, a 374,000-square-foot retail
center off Route 311 near Interstate 84 where Camarda
wants to include a Lowe's home-improvement store
and a Costco warehouse store, and Stateline Retail
Center, a property on 50 acres near the Connecticut
border, where he envisions a shopping hub with one
anchor store, such as a Target or BJ's, and three
smaller businesses. Both projects have generated
local concerns. Nearly two years ago, he sold two
parcels off Stoneleigh Avenue where more than 350
units of senior-citizen housing in The Retreat and
Stoneleigh Woods are under construction.
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