Will Staples become “Stitches?”
A proposal to convert an office supply store into medical offices is now before the Mount Kisco Planning Board.
Seeking site plan approval and a change of use permit for an existing 18,036-square-foot building at 350 North Bedford Road, which is currently occupied by Staples, is Simone Development Companies.
The Bronx-based firm will also have to obtain variances from the village’s Zoning Board of Appeals, approvals from the Architectural Review Board, and the go-ahead from the New York City Department of Environmental Protection if impervious surfaces are increased.
The prominent real estate firm specializes in the acquisition and repurposing of underutilized commercial, retail, and industrial properties into medical and health-care facilities.
In 2023, the company had been poised to buy 162 Main St., the former home of Modell’s Sporting Goods, bookstore Borders and Party City.
Simone presented a similar conceptual plan to the village then, but the board gave it a mixed review. Some members were for it, thinking that it would draw more folks to the downtown while further bolstering Mount Kisco’s reputation as a medical destination, while others raised concerns over its potential impact on parking.
The Main Street project never came to be.
Then, Simone had pointed to its role in the conversion of a 63,000-square-foot space that had been an Ocean State Job Lot in Centereach on Long Island into medical facilities for Catholic Health.
Key medical entities it has worked with include Montefiore Health System, Northwell Health, St. John’s Riverside Hospital, and New York-Presbyterian.
In its current application, Simone emphasized its commitment to “investing in the Village of Mount Kisco" and noted that it had recently gotten the Planning Board’s approval for medical offices at 37 Radio Circle Drive.
Appearing before the Planning Board on June 9 were Umberto Annunziata, development manager for Simone, and the firm’s attorney, Diana B. Kolev of DelBello Donnellan Weingarten Wise & Wiederkehr, LLP.
They did not reveal the names of any potential tenants but did say no construction would be taking place until after July 2027, when Staples’ lease runs out.
The application was made under the name, 350 North Bedford Realty, LLC.
The two-acre property is part of the Mount Kisco Square shopping center and is in the village’s Limited Commercial zoning district.
The original site plan approvals were granted around 1995.
There are no plans to expand the existing building’s footprint. The interior will undergo a full buildout, however, to accommodate the future health care provider, Simone said.
The developer proposes to paint the existing façade and roof, update the storefront entry, provide new egress locations, and regrade the loading dock.
There are now 86 parking spaces. The applicant intends to re-stripe the parking lot in order to add four ADA accessible parking spaces, which would then meet the requirement for medical office uses to have a total of 91 spots.
Other modifications include the addition of a 300kW generator with “Level 2” sound-attenuating enclosure and a new refuse area enclosure.
Commenting on the proposal were the village’s planning consultant Jan Johannessen and consulting engineer, Anthony Oliveri.
Johannessen noted that the project is considered a “Type 2” action under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), meaning that it’s been categorically determined not to have a significant adverse impact on the environment.
However, it still needs approvals from the ZBA, ARB, NYCDEP, and will be referred to the Westchester County Planning Board for review.
He recommended that the applicant’s traffic study be reviewed by the village’s own consultant, George Jacquemart of BFJ Planning.
The study had found that during the peak afternoon hours, there will be one less car generated by the medical offices compared to current traffic volume, and 16 fewer cars during the peak morning hour.
Board member Barbara Roppolo cast doubt on those numbers.
“I can’t imagine all of those appointments going in and out of there and not having a greater impact,” she said.
The site is accessed through an easement at 330 North Bedford Road.
Currently there is one-way traffic around the Staples building. According to board member Peter Alonge, there’s about 24 feet of clearance on the east side and 27 feet behind the structure. He suggested that it might be possible to create a two-way flow.
Johannessen also spoke about the site “needing some love,” for instance, upgrades to exterior lighting, the sprucing up of landscaping, and the replacement of curbing that’s currently in “tough shape.”
The topic of pedestrian safety and vehicular circulation also came up.
The village is recommending the construction of sidewalks along the north and the south side of the building.
Johannessen asked for a staff meeting to go over some of the details.
Oliveri told the board that verification of the site’s stormwater and sewer systems is needed to ensure that both will be adequate for the proposed use.
“That could happen during construction and certified prior to the granting of the CO (Certificate of Occupancy),” he said.
He also wanted to double-check the “dimensions” of the proposed parallel parking spaces to see if they meet minimal size requirements.
Asking the board what kind of “specifics” it wanted for the interior buildout, Annunziata said: “Again, I have to separate the two, the core piece of this as a use, and then there’s the design, that, you know, is going to lag.”
According to Johannessen the board would typically be able to see a floor plan to fully understand a proposed use.
“I understand your position, but maybe we could come to a happy medium?" he asked, adding:
“You heard it from the board tonight, they kind of need to know a little bit more information without giving perhaps the name – certainly not construction level plans – but a floor plan that is potentially subject to some modifications if needed.”
The Planning Board next meets at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 23.
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