Port Chester Discusses United Hospital Site's Future

The Port Chester village Board of Trustees tonight is slated to discuss the next step in the proposed redevelopment of the former United Hospital site until a mixed-us residential complex.

The meeting is set for 7 p.m. in the Village Court, 350 N. Main St. Port Chester, following a closed-door "executive session" at 6 p.m.

On tonight's agenda is a resolution that would begin the review process for Starwood Capital Group's proposal for the closed-hospital site on 14 acres just off Boston Post Road. The resolution would declare the village Board of Trustees as the legal "lead agency" for the environmental review process for the proposal.

Proposed: 820 residential units in five- and six-story buildings, with 20,000 square feet of ground floor retail and commercial uses and 1,350 parking spots in surface and underground structures. The residential units would have a mix of sizes: 5 percent studios, 48 percent one-bedroom and 47 percent two-bedrooms.

To make the project possible, Starwood is seeking a zoning change from the site's current two-family residential designation to a special district that allows for a planned development. The project would demolish the old, unused hospital.

While the site is in a busy section of Port Chester with large shopping center just across Boston Post Road, the redevelopment of the site has become a major topic of disucssion among village residents because of concerns over its impact on the Port Chester School District.

Some residents fear the size of the project could worsen existing problems face by the school district in providing services for the densely-packed village.