Real Estate

Benchmark Delivers Updated Assisted Living Project Proposal

Benchmark Senior Living is looking to bring a three-story, 87-unit building to Pleasantville's Bedford Road.

A proposal from Benchmark Senior Living to bring an 87-unit building to the parcel just north of the United Methodist Church is reaching a critical stage in the approval process.

On Monday, the Pleasantville Board of Trustees heard an updated proposal from the developer, as Zarin & Steinmetz attorney David Cooper asked the village to begin its SEQR (State Environmental Quality Review) determination deliberations.

Cooper told the Board the developer was hoping for a determination "within the next 60 days."

Board members and several residents of the neighborhood viewed a presentation (see above video) that Cooper said would provide "a comprehensive view of what this will look like."

Since its last draft, the proposal has been reduced from four to three stories, making it 11 feet shorter. The number of proposed units has remained the same.

Other proposed changes include added a second retaining wall to the front of the property (along Bedford Road).

Following the presentation, residents asked for additional information, including winter views of the property.

John Meyer Consulting's Richard Pearson shared traffic study findings with the board, noting the most heavily trafficked times of day for the area are between 7 and 9 a.m. and 4 and 6 p.m., noting few future employee shifts would coincide with those peak times.

Pearson said Bencmark has also proposed re-striping the Manville at Bedford Road intersection, to create separate left and right turn lanes.

Benchmark has proposed a total of 65 parking spaces for the site, but argued few residents will likely have their own vehicles. Pearson said the United Methodist Church will lose "approximately nine spaces" if the development moves forward, but Benchmark has proposed allowing the church to utilize its parking lot when needed via a connecting sidewalk.

Cooper said Benchmark plans to be back before the board on August 26 and will answer outstanding board questions, as well as address emergency response and stormwater concerns prior to that date.

"You have to make a SEQRA determination," Village Attorney Joel Sachs told the board. "That's the first substantive action."

For further reading:
Benchmark to Submit Zoning Petition in Pleasantville
Pleasantville Neighbors Decry Assisted Living Proposal
Assisted Living Facility Proposed in Pleasantville


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