White Plains hires TransCenter redevelopment planner
Planning firm to be paid with state grant money
White Plains has hired a leading engineering firm to help plan the redevelopment of the city's TransCenter.
"We now have one of the premier planning groups in the world on board with us," Mayor Thomas Roach said Monday night, before the Common Council unanimously approved an agreement with WSP Parsons Brinkerhoff, which will serve as a consultant to provide design and engineering services.
The firm, which has worked on major transportation projects throughout the country, will be paid $794,000 from a $1 million state grant.
The TransCenter redevelopment will be the largest construction project in White Plains since the City Center, Trump Tower, Ritz Carlton and Renaissance Plaza changed the face of the downtown business district in the early 2000s.
Planners will look at the Metro North railroad station, parking garage, surface lots, bus terminal and the surrounding neighborhood and decide how to best improve the transportation infrastructure and redevelop the neighborhood to make it an attractive "go to" area in the city.
"The train station is not serving us as it should," Roach said, adding that while commuters view the project mainly as a railroad station replacement effort, "I want it to be something much more than that."
Parsons Brinkerhoff was chosen from among eight companies that submitted proposals to the mayor's office earlier this year. The firm will be paid from a New York State Energy Research Development Authority grant for preliminary planning, design and engineering, with a goal of completing the process in one year.
Roach said that will include:
- Re-assessing the White Plains Metro-North station so that it functions more efficiently for all users and integrates the myriad of transit services.
- Re-establishing the Transit District — the area immediately surrounding the station — through the creation of more pedestrian-scale streets, transit-supportive land uses , and engaging public spaces.
- Strengthening the links between the transit district and the downtown core.
- Strategic planning and identifying potential funding streams and funding priorities.
This is not the first time the city has looked toward developing the area around the TransCenter. In 2007, developer Louis Cappelli, who built most of the major projects in the business district, made a number of proposals for the area around the railroad station, but was rebuffed by the Common Council.
Now, it appears, the council is eager to get started.
"I'm pleased this project is continuing to move forward," Council President John Martin said. "There is great potential for this critical area of the city."