. It heartens me to know that so many people care deeply about the future of Yorktown and just hope we can keep the discussion civil, constructive and focused.
It's not about Costco.
They are a fine corporate citizen and certainly have their place. I'm just not convinced it's on the subject parcel. It's a matter of sound planning. The Yorktown Comprehensive Plan (YCP) is a legal document that the town adopted in 2010. It outlines, very comprehensively, how Yorktown plans to ameliorate the vibrant and quaint assembly of five small business hamlets that comprise "Yorktown": Shrub Oak, Jefferson Valley, Mohegan Lake, Crompond and Yorktown Heights.
I encourage you to read the YCP. It's located here. It's a local law that is critically important to this discussion.
For example, in the "Economic Development" section of the YCP, one of the 11 stated goals is to "strive for tax and fiscal stability for Yorktown residents by continuing to seek out stable, low-impact, high-quality ratables." Propose something truly unique and high-quality, like a Fairway, and I'm going to overlook the terrible traffic impact and be it's most vocal supporter. It's not literally my backyard.
The YCP continues, "[a]n attractive commercial area not only contributes to community pride, but also helps attract customers. The hamlet business centers can be improved in terms of their overall attractiveness, the quality and mix of stores, and walkability."
When I read that, it's hard to convince me that adding a Costco across from a BJ's passes the smell test; no matter how hard the development team and certain Patch commenters try, I'm not buying that Costco is so "extraordinary" from BJ's. Really? And don't get me started on the 5-50 cent (depending on who you talk to) savings on gas.
To quote the 35th President of United States – who just so happens to have relatives who live in a town very close to our fine municipality – "a rising tide lifts all boats." We pay the highest property taxes in the nation and are not some podunk, back-water town in middle America on the verge of bankruptcy and somehow Costco is going to ride into town and save the day.
Let's aim for a little decorum and adhere to vision laid out in the YCP.
I'd just like to note that adding any new retailer to that FE site would technically not add any traffic to that area because this was approved by the town, built and occupied. The traffic is already baked into the site by default. Which brings up another point. Once something gets approved, we're stuck with it. That's why I feel this discussion is so important and believe it's imperative that we take the time to really look at it closely. Details are far too scant at this point to have a fully informed and constructive discussion.
It's not all about money. Fiscally we're very solvent and we don't need Costco to survive. We're not the richest town in Westchester, but we're pretty affluent (e.g. average single family homes here cost more than 500K; households average more than 100K of income, per the last census). People don't normally marry the first person that courts them. While Costco is respectable, it doesn't fit with the vision our community voted into law in the form of the YCP. You could say that Costco is well-meaning and nice, but a little overweight and socially awkward. We are an attractive community and can do better. We should aim for tall dark and handsome, metaphorically speaking. Read the YCP and you'll see what I mean. It's not you, Costco, it's us. I'm sorry, but I think we're going to have to break up. If you suffer because Costco doesn't come to town, you must be suffering already. I think we're doing just fine without them.
And even discussing the possibility that Costco could consider opening in downtown only confuses the issue and isn't worth wasting time on.
Let's all read the YCP while they get a little more granular with their proposal. I'm really curious where the sewer capacity come from. We seem to use Peekskill as a crutch, in that regard.
Remeber...Port Chester has Costco Mt Kisco - No Costco New Rochelle has Costco Chappaqua - No Costco Yonkers has Costco Bedford - No Costco Yorktown -- Wants Costco?? Follow the Comprehensive Plan....It was well thought out and Approved!!
BTW, Evan, I assume this person is not to be believed because of their bogus name. Oh, and Mr (or Ms) No Costco, are you the same person complaining about the class of people who will be coming to town to eat at Pizza Hut and IHOP?
And it's been pointed out several times that the Costco jobs are not menial or low paying. Are they high tech jobs? No. But they're likely to be better than most of the other retail jobs in Yorktown. My wife works in retail and I can assure you that working for Costco would be way better than where she is now.
What the town of Yorktown needs to do is focus on following the taxpayer-created Comprehensive Plan and creating incentives to businesses to revitalize the existing commercial centers. The Yorktown Green (home of Big K and the former Food Emporium) is ripe for redevelopment and the town should be working with the owners of the property to develop plans for making that into a more vibrant commercial center. Personally, it really isn't about Costco. I would be happy to have Costco as the anchor of a new development to replace Yorktown Green as long as the development included small retail spaces for a vibrant mix of stores and shops. That is the kind of development that Yorktown needs now and for the future.
What standalone big-box store has failed on Route 202? Costco is a destination -- you do not need to worry about putting it with other stores because people will come to shop at it by itself. It is very rare for it to be located in a shopping center with other stores (even in Port Chester it's really in a separate lot). The locations that are empty on 202 are the result of the downturn in the auto industry and yes, having them all as individual properties probably does not help them but it has nothing to do with Costco. And putting it downtown is a terrible idea because then all the people who would drive here on the Taconic would have to drive down Underhill or 202 to get there, plus all the trucks that people are worried about. Not to mention that Costco would never want to go there and I doubt there is enough room for the parking that they need. Also, Rite Aid, Gap and Borders are definitely NOT big box stores. The only big box store in Mt. Kisco is Target (and maybe Staples, but that's a stretch).
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/25/fashion/25costco.html?_r=0&ei=5087&em=&en=14f641af60c51647&ex=1196226000&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1348962227-0sgYzZDwAp32Jn/WQtArCw And I don't see how putting an office building "in your back yard" is any better than a Costco. And if you want to talk about stores that will be empty, put some of those locally owned stores there and see how long they last.
And I'd be surprised if people there fought it like you folks are. Sadly, the rest of Westchester is probably shaking their heads in disbelief after the Journal News article this week. I hope they don't think that all residents are crazy like that. I spoke to the guy at the Costco gas station in New Rochelle today who told me that he saw the article and couldn't believe it.
As for what Yorktown Heights can support, I didn't actually say anything in my post about "high-end" vs. low-end. But, since you did, the median household income in 2009 for Yorktown Heights was $112,201, so local residents have a fair amount of spending power. Not to mention that YH is a shopping hub for the larger area, regularly bringing in customers from neighboring towns. I am quite sure that an appealing mix of commercial businesses (large and small, independent and chain) in an appealing setting in YH would thrive.
As for your claim that Yorktown can support high-end retailers, reality has not shown that to be correct, given that none of them have come to downtown Yorktown or the JV mall. Turco's might be the most high end store we have in Yorktown.
All the stores I mention are Big Box. Barnes and Nobles is sited as an an example in the Wikipedia definition of Big Box. The local ones are/were not stand-alone, but there are many stand alone examples of those stores. The fact that Yorktown doesn't have high-end stores doesn't mean that it can't support them. Just as people go to Thyme and Peter Pratt's and other high-end restaurants in YH, a Whole Foods or other such store would have no problem drawing a steady stream of customers. This has become one of those pointless little tangential arguments that people get caught up in on these idiotic forums. How sad. I'll let you have the last word...
We are far enough away from White Plains, and Danbury to make Yorktown a perfect place for high end retailers. First you have to make them understand you want them, and offer them a location which is fairly easy to reach. Route 6 and 202 fit the requirement. Those two corridors can be your mixed Commercial areas. The areas in between those two strips should remain residential and open space. Lord and Taylor now has a store in Yonkers along with a Chesecake Factory, Pandora, Apple, Stew Leanords and more to come. None of it on Central Ave. Yonkers is more desirable than Yorktown? I don't believe that for a second.
Before Costco, there was a proposal for a high end shopping center at that location. It died, and at the time I didn't think it was appropriate for the area. I will get far more use from a Costco in that location than from an upscale mall. Look at what Simon is doing to the JV Mall. If they thought they could transform the mall into an upscale mall don't you think they'd do it, given that they do not own the Danbury Fair Mall and are losing lots of business to them? Let's get Costco in first and then if developers think there is a market for upscale they can put it with Lowes on the property further down 202 (now I'll really get the smart growth people angry).