An application to build a hotel on a defunct landfill quarry on Marbledale Road in Tuckahoe has been filed with the village’s Building Department and a Marriott is now on the way.
The Eastchester-based Bilwin Development Affiliates, LLC wants to transform 3.5 acres of land between 109 and 125 Marbledale Road into the Tuckahoe Marriott Springhill Suites, a five-story, 163-room hotel with a 6,400-square-foot restaurant on the first floor and 208 on-site parking spaces.
The project cost is estimated to be between $19 million and $25 million with Bilwin Development Affiliates receiving a $1.4 million tax break from the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency as part of an incentive to build in Westchester.
The project will create 80 permanent jobs in the village—30 hotel and 50 restaurant positions—as well as 200 construction jobs.
“The new jobs created during the construction, the permanent jobs to operate the business when completed and the placement of this large piece of property onto the tax rolls for its full use rather than vacant land [all] add significant annual revenue to the village” says Tuckahoe Mayor Steve Ecklond.
Ecklond said Bilwin will be sent a letter informing it of the required variances needed from the village’s Zoning Board of Appeals, which the mayor said are “minimal.”
If the project successfully passes through the Zoning Board of Appeals, it will appear before the Planning Board for site plan and architectural design approval.
Bilwin Development Affiliates said it wants to start construction in November, but, because the Planning Board doesn’t meet again until September, Ecklond said he believes the proposal will be in front of the village’s review boards for the remainder of the year.
Among the items to be vetted are the conditions of the proposed site, which, as a quarry landfill, could be a contaminated brownfield site, which is land that has potentially hazardous substances, pollutants or contaminants, that would have to be cleaned up before construction can begin. Ecklond said the village won’t know for sure until the environmental studies are submitted to the Planning Board.
Another concern was raised by Democratic Tuckahoe Trustee Stephen Quigley.
I’m generally in favor of a village hotel,” Quigley said. It’s something we need in the area. The closest hotels in the area are Yonkers and White Plains. My only concern is the increase in traffic. The area is already congested with people coming in and out, so we would need to do studies to see what the traffic pattern would be.”
In anticipation of this hotel application, Tuckahoe began the process of implementing a hotel tax at its April 28 village board meeting. The village first needs authorization from the state in order to impost a potential 3 percent tax of its own on hotel occupants.
Black Westchester
Black Westchester - News With The Black Point Of View is an online news magazine for people of color for Westchester and the Tri- State area of New York at every economic level. Our mission is to promote the concept of “community” through media.
