Diamond Seeks Field House, Road for 333 N. Bedford

Diamond Properties is seeking to add a third access road and a soccer field house for its Mount Kisco property on 333 North Bedford Road.

Owner Jim Diamond and his architect, Michael Gallin, presented the plans to the Mount Kisco Planning Board at its meeting last Wednesday.

The additions involve opening up a new roadway that would run between two buildings, including the current site of Jim Harte Nissan off of Route 117. The roadway, which would have two directions, is owned by Diamond Properties but also serves as an easement for nearby properties.

The field house, which would serve an outdoor soccer field built after Diamond Properties acquired the site in the mid 2000s, would include two bathrooms, storage space and vending machines. The building itself, Gallin said, would be a “long thin structure here,” with a accompanying plan to berm up the hill nearby the building. The result would be a terraced viewing area where people could sit on top of the hill and climb onto the top of the field house and use it for viewing, he said.

The site, also called The Park at Mount Kisco, is known in the area as the home as several major businesses, including Grand Prix New York, Saw Mill Club East and Westchester Mixed Martial Arts & Fitness. It is about 575,000 square feet in total, and Gallin noted that the site, which is nearly filled, is “approaching stabilization.”

The roadway would be the third access point for the property from Route 117. The two that exist now are through Ice House Road around the property's southern area, and through an intersection further north across from a shopping plaza and the entrance to the Foxwood condominium complex.

As a result of the site change, three parking spots would be removed.

While the proposals are new additions to the site, they are hardly new. When Diamond Properties took over the property, a former Grand Union warehouse, both elements were previously envisioned. Diamond told the planning board that while the roadway was not previously needed, the purpose now is to alleviate some traffic backups that have formed around nearby Ice House Road. An example of the problem that Diamond brought up is when a class might let out from Saw Mill Club East. He also noted that the southern end of the building, which followed in filling up with tenants after the northern end, is now more developed.

How a new roadway could properly handle vehicular traffic and not have conflicts with the adjacent properties was raised. 

Board member Ralph Vigliotti told Diamond that he felt the access way, which has encroachments and parking around its periphery, needs to have a lasting solution to prevent parking once it's opened up.

“I think you need to do something permanent,” he said.

Vigliotti suggested looking at physical changes to the roadway to deter parking, while Diamond noted that talking to people near by about the change could be done. He noted that this worked with Ice House Road, which was a de facto parking strip before he redeveloped 333.

Vigliotti also suggested various curbing changes as a solution. Gallin, in a general sense, was sympathetic to having enforcement.

“We will work that through,” he said.

Planning Board Vice Chairman Anthony Sturniolo, who presided over the board because Chairman Joseph Cosentino was absent, was receptive to the idea of opening up the access road. He noted that the easement was always part of a parallel access concept for the area, calling it a “plus in the long-range plan if and when it develops.”

Village Attorney Whitney Singleton wondered whether historical documentation, such as a previous drawing, would indicate the presence of parking in the area of the easement, and supported letting Diamond Properties being able to get it for the review process.

Comments from consultants were generally technical in nature, including suggestions to seek feedback from New York City Department of Environmental Protection and New York State's Department of Transportation.

The proposals were presented to the board in a conceptual phase, and the board will continue to review them.

Additionally, Diamond Properties owns a nearby parcel, called 295 North Bedford Road, and recently acquired it. The developer is seeking to open access off of the adjacent 333 property and to provide parking. Currently, the site is used by Diamond Properties for equipment storage. The improvement for the site is in a separate application before the board.