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Greenburgh OKs Site Plan For Bigger Trader Joe's

GREENBURGH, N.Y. – Greenburgh is going to get a bigger Trader Joe’s, says Supervisor Paul Feiner.

Greenburgh has approved an amended site plan application for the expansion of Trader Joe's and the construction of a free-standing retail or medical building at the Westchester Square shopping center in Hartsdale.

Greenburgh has approved an amended site plan application for the expansion of Trader Joe's and the construction of a free-standing retail or medical building at the Westchester Square shopping center in Hartsdale.

Photo Credit: Yelp

The Town Board, which was considering an application by Hampshire Management, Tuesday voted to approve an amended site plan that would allow developers to expand the supermarket by 4,000 square feet.

Trader Joe’s is in the Westchester Square shopping center on Central Park Avenue in the hamlet of Hartsdale. The shopping center is sandwiched between North Washington Avenue and Dalewood Drive.

Trader Joe's bills itself as a "neighborhood grocery store with amazing food and drink from around the globe and around the corner."

Hampshire's application also includes a 6,000-square-foot free-standing retail or medical building that would be constructed behind the Best Buy store, Feiner said in an email.

One of the sticking points in discussions about the application was access to the site.

The developers had proposed building an access driveway onto North Washington Avenue, something the supervisor opposed.

Feiner said he agreed with public safety concerns raised by Police Chief Christopher McNerney and traffic safety officer Sgt. Nick Reckson about allowing more traffic on North Washington Avenue.

The winding road is already heavily traveled, the supervisor said, adding that it would be “a dangerous street to have more cars on.”

He also said having a regular access driveway on North Washington Avenue would “commercialize” the neighborhood.

McNerney, in a letter to the Town Board, said he felt one access driveway would be sufficient to ensure public safety.

Part of the town’s discussion with developers at a work session revolved around the necessity and costs of improving North Washington Avenue even if the access driveway was used for emergency purposes only.

Feiner told developers that he didn’t want them to “spend a penny more” than they had to on the project. However, from the town’s standpoint, he also didn’t want them thinking that they could build an emergency access driveway, and then come back at some future date, asking to open it up to all traffic.

The upshot of discussions, according to Feiner’s email, was that the project's site plan application will include a new access driveway along Dalewood Drive instead.

It will provide "limited turns," meaning that folks exiting the shopping center can only go right, towards Central Avenue, and people going into the center from Dalewood can only go left, said town Councilman Francis Sheehan.

The town is trying to be "fair" by balancing the interests of both the landowner and its residents, Feiner said.

The project was previously reduced in size, Feiner noted during the board’s recent work session.

A second building, which would have been 12,900 square feet in size, was removed from the plan, the supervisor’s email said.

To view a video of the Town Board's work session on the Trader Joe's project, click here.

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