GREENWICH -- A new massive construction project may be joining those ongoing on the borders of Greenwich.
Plans to build 231 senior housing units across the street from the Greenwich town border on King Street in Rye Brook, N.Y., were previously approved by village authorities, but the project has stalled for years. Numerous extensions were granted to 900 King Street Owner LLC and developers George Comfort & Sons for the proposed construction work.
Now, a new developer, Sunrise Senior Living, is set to contract with the previous developer and bring it to completion.
An attorney for Sunrise, Anthony Veneziano, recently informed the Rye Brook Village Board of Trustees that the new company was moving forward with plans for the 900 King St. site, where a vacant office building now stands. Veneziano said Sunrise was seeking to build the senior development as previously approved with "a few" modifications to the plan.
He said a contract to take over the project had been signed, and a "due diligence" phase would be completed in a few months that would give Sunrise control of the project.
"They're very experienced," Veneziano said of the Sunrise company. "It's in a better place than it was. We're moving full speed ahead at this point."
In Greenwich, however, the number of large-scale construction projects near the border is causing concerns about traffic and over-development in the area.
Just a block from the Greenwich border in Port Chester, N.Y., a six-story building boasting 209 rental units, along with retail and restaurant space, is under construction on North Main Street. A number of other tall buildings are also going up around the Port Chester downtown district, many of them visible from the adjoining Byram neighborhood of Greenwich.
Also in Rye Brook, plans to build a hotel with 220 rooms, a conference center, a grand ballroom, a medical office building, a wellness center and roughly 120 residences are currently under review at a former hotel site on Anderson Hill Road.
Sunrise operates 240 senior development facilities around the country. The company plans to demolish the old office building at 900 King St.. The previously approved plan that Sunrise is seeking to reactivate would create 126 independent living units, 20 townhouse units and
85 assisted living units on the roughly 18-acre site just over the Greenwich border.
Rye Brook Mayor Jason Klein said the village board was pleased that the long-dormant project was showing signs of resolution. The first application for the site was made in 2017. Approvals were granted in September 2021.
"I'm pleased to see progress," said Klein. "We've been at this a long time. I'm hopeful we're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel."
Klein and village board members were adamant that the demolition of the old office building take place during the summer months of 2025. The office site is adjacent to the Blind Brook Middle School and High School, and village officials said they wanted to make sure the work was done when school was out of session to avoid disruptions to the school community.
The village board granted a six-month extension for the continuation of the previous approvals; board members said they wanted a status update from the development team in January.
The old office building was constructed in 1981 and once housed IBM corporate offices. In previous years, Greenwich Hospital also used the building for office space.