Six Story 140-Unit Apartment Complex Proposed Alongside Beaver Swamp Brook in Harrison
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A new six story, 140-unit apartment complex is being proposed adjacent to Beaver Swamp Brook in Harrison, a stone’s throw from the Glen Oaks neighborhood of Rye. The development proposal is certain to set off concerns around flooding, traffic and aesthetics. The news comes when Rye is going through its own angst about ongoing flooding, concerns about maintaining the character of the downtown Purchase Street area, and finally refreshing Rye’s 1985 master plan.
The general area along Beaver Swamp Brook has been subject to a historical legal dispute between the City of Rye and the Town/Village of Harrison concerning wetland impact and related flooding concerns that date back to the 1990s. Discussion of the new project is on the agenda of the Harrison Planning Commission for this coming Tuesday, March 25, 2025.
The proposed development by 67 Grant Avenue Associates, LLC is adjacent to Malfitano Park along Oakland Avenue (at 67 Grant Avenue), and has an existing building and parking area used by various commercial tenants including SERVPRO, Fenom Fitness and Peter Navarra Landscaping.
Other features of the proposed development include 182 parking spaces and a number of recreation spaces for residents including 19,000 square feet on the roof of the six story building and a 1,200 square foot pool on the 4th floor roof. Proposal documents state “the Property is located within both the 100-year and 500-year floodplains” and the developers expect to seek variances for a side yard setback and for the structure height (max allowable is 50’ and the current plan shows a 69’ 10’’ height). The development requires a “Special Exception Use permit (“SEP”)” in part because the portion of the property along Beaver Swamp Brook is a regulatory floodway.
A report by real estate services company Houlihan & O’Malley included in the planning documents (p182 of the Planning Commission agenda document, see below) says “it appears that the entire 67 Grant Avenue site lies within the special flood hazard area (Zone AE)”.
Area History
The adjacent area along Beaver Swamp Brook was a brownfield remediation project that dates back to 1997. Remediation projects are completed under the guidance of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Around 2003, the DEC approved use of the area that is now Malfitano Park for recreational (not residential) use. Various permits were needed at the time for Harrison to bring in fill material into Beaver Swamp Brook, a regulated “Class II” freshwater wetland.
Fast forward to 2007 when our area was hit by two massive flooding events in March and April of that year. The City of Rye, then under Mayor (now State Assemblyman) Steve Otis, initiated legal proceedings around Harrison’s fill and active recreation plans (called at one time “Project Homerun” as there were plans to install baseball fields). Eventually, under administrative law judges at DEC, Harrison was restricted to minimize disturbance of the wetlands and make the area a passive recreation park.
Meeting Details
The 67 Grant Avenue Associates, LLC proposal will be discussed at the Harrison Planning Board meeting this Tuesday, March 25th at 7:00pm (Municipal Building, 1 Heineman Place, Harrison). The project (67 GRANT AVENUE – NEW MULTI-FAMILY BUILDING (PB25-008) – 67 Grant Avenue, Block 152, Lots 24 & 8 – Site Plan Review, Special Exception Use Permit, SEQR Review) is #9 on the agenda.
See:
Project documents for the meeting on 67 GRANT AVENUE – NEW MULTI-FAMILY BUILDING (PB25-008)
Historical documents on Project Homerun and development along Beaver Swamp Brook in Harrison (what is now Mafitano Park):
- August 2009 SEQRA Ruling
- Beaver Swamp-Decision of the Commissioner-6-17-2015
- December 2014 Decision
- October 2015 Decision
