Rebirth underway in New Rochelle

Real Estate Weekly, March 10, 1999 by Lois Weiss

With $500 million in new projects rising or on drawing boards, downtown New Rochelle's diet of fumes may be over. By August 1st, the ribbon will be cut on New Roc City's 1.2 million square-foot multi-use complex, and the first of a projected 5.5 million IMAX and movie-goers, ice skaters, diners and Space Shot riders will be taking their places in line.

They will be joined by Super Stop and Shoppers, Marriott Residence Inn visitors, and office tenants in the multi-block $190 million joint venture which has risen on the site of the former somnolent New Rochelle Mall.

The urban entertainment retail complex is being developed by New Roc Associates, a partnership of Louis Cappelli, Robert M. Greene, president of Center Services, and architect Kenneth Narva, president of PEG/Park Architects.

This jewel in New Rochelle's center took several years to purchase, plan and redevelop, but its concrete shell is nearly complete and the Huguenot Tower, a 235-foot rooftop attraction, is already a landmark for Long Island Sound boaters.

Modeled after the Eiffel Tower-as it recalls the city's French heritage-the top of the 40-second thrill ride will be illuminated by lighting designer Joe Kaplan. Cappelli said the colors can be changed "instantly" to warn of impending storms or celebrate upcoming holidays.

"It's an icon," he added, and as the first of its kind on the East Coast, will act as a welcoming beacon for travelers from all over the world. The more than $1 million tower was a hard sell at first for New Rochelle officials, but they have warmed up to the cold steel, as it draws attention to the development.

"They don't give anything away, but they listen, and we are appreciative of their feedback," said Cappelli of the officials, who he said listened to many of his "corny" ideas.

The dozen dangling riders, scrapped to the outside of the tinker toy-like tower for each 4G experience, will be loaded from inside the four-story complex by Sports Plus, which will also operate 150,000 square feet of motion simulator rides, virtual reality games, amusement and video games, batting cages and a climbing wall.

Owned by Family Golf Centers, which recently won the right to develop driving ranges on one of the New York City Port Authority Bus Terminal roofs, its subsidiary is creating an NHL-sized ice rink with 600 to 1,000 seats for fans, and an adjacent skating "lake" for families that will re-create the experience of skating on a frozen pond. They will also provide "great rentals," sports shops and fast food areas. A sports bar will also overlook the main rink.

Nearby, Regal Cinemas will operate a 19-screen 130,000 square-foot megaplex that will include the first IMAX Theater in Westchester County. All the theaters will have extra-padded stadium seats with cupholders and three kinds of digital sound capabilities.

A Bally Total Fitness Club will occupy two levels and take up 25,000 square feet.

There won't be a "food court" in New Roc City, but there will be plenty to eat. Apple Metro, a Harrison, NY-based franchise holder, is opening a 300-seat Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar, and a 350-seat Rio Bravo Cantino. The firm is also bringing in the southern seafood restaurateur, Ray's On the River.

With its own entrance and free parking, the Massachusetts-based Stop and Shop will have a 70,000 square-foot niche at the mall, and by its size, is dubbed a Super Stop & Shop. It will have a deli, bakery, card shop and other specialty items. Grocery shoppers will be able to drop their kids at the amusement center, but there won't be an indoor walkway between them.

Meanwhile, the city of New Rochelle has spent $25 million developing the parking garage and sold Cappelli air rights on which he will now be developing an approximately 100,000 square-foot office building, with rents expected to be in the mid-$20's.

Jeffrey J. Castaldo, the executive director of real estate for Cappelli Enterprises, is marketing that building, as well as 85,000 square feet of retail still available in the entertainment portion.

Next door to the office tower, the team is developing a 120-room Marriott Residence Inn, which as an extended stay property, something Mayor Timothy Idoni says that area companies have requested.

Architect and partner Narva, who helped prompt the Ladies Miles resurgence as a partner on the original Bed Bath & Beyond and Filene's Basement retail and office redevelopment at 620 Sixth Avenue - the former Siegel Cooper Dept. Store in New York City - is designing a facade for New Roc City that will echo a small-town streetscape and break up the blocks-long expanse, particularly along Main Street.

The opening of New Roc City is expected to propel the further rebirth of the once proud Queen City.

Left with a tax base of $1 stores, vegetable stands and a frighteningly empty Main Street as four movie theaters, Arnold Constable, Bloomingdales, Macy's, Lillian Vernon, Woolworths and Citibank moved out one by one, city officials spent more than two decades swinging through planning dances with Xanadu, Donald J. Trump and UNICEF, among others.