Ginsburg Development Companies (GDC) has unveiled to the White Plains Common Council its vision and plans for the transformation of the former Westchester Financial Center into City Square.
The new mixed-use project includes renovation of Class A office space at 50 Main Street, new restaurants and retail space along Main Street and Martine Avenue, and the reinvention of the 1 Martine Avenue office building into 188 units of rental apartments.
The project is located on the square block at the Gateway to White Plains just east of the White Plains Metro-North Station and is bounded by Main Street, South Lexington Avenue, Martine Avenue and Bank Street.
Ginsburg purchased the 571,000 s/f property, comprised of the 50 Main Street and 1-11 Martine office buildings, along with the over 1,000-car garage, in April of this year for $83 million.
The company had earlier purchased The Metro, a 122-unit residential building at 37 South Lexington Avenue, which completes the block which will be called City Square.
The transformation of Westchester Financial Center into City Square will be the first development project under the area’s new Transit District Development Zone, designed to make the neighborhood near the train station more pedestrian friendly with new retail and restaurant offerings.
The station is currently undergoing a $92 million renovation by Metro-North Railroad.
“We are excited to be at the forefront in initiating this gateway project to the downtown. City Square will become a real mixed-use location in Westchester County for people to live, work, play and dine – all just steps from the new train station,” said GDC principal Martin Ginsburg.
GDC unveiled renderings of the redevelopment that shows a dramatic new entrance for the 50 Main Street office building featuring a dramatic sculpture and new retail and restaurant buildings fronting Main Street, South Lexington Avenue and Martine Avenue.
GDC is proposing a total of 19,540 s/f of new retail/restaurant space.
Upgrades to 50 Main Street will include an entire new amenity floor featuring a renovated cafeteria with outdoor dining, a fitness center, meeting rooms, yoga rooms, conference rooms, art gallery, exhibit area and a golf simulator.
The proposed 1 Martine residential conversion will contain 188 rental apartments offering studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units.
Amenities in the building will include a Club Lounge with setback roof terrace, a fitness center and 24/7 Concierge Service.
An amenity that the entire complex will be able to enjoy is a new City Square Park, an almost one-acre landscaped roof deck that will sit on top of the property’s 1,033-space parking garage and will be accessible from all buildings. The park will feature a dramatic fountain with plentiful seating, a putting green, a BBQ Pavilion and a 2,000-step, 4-level walking path with landscaping and sculpture features.
