The Westchester County Industrial Development Agency, the county board that grants tax breaks to spur construction, moved to approve three mixed-use projects in the heart of White Plains. Together they represent roughly $1.2 billion in private investment, about 1,800 new apartments, and more than 3,000 construction jobs.

The anchor is Hamilton Green, WP Mall Realty's $585.2 million replacement of the aging White Plains Mall. Picture 860 apartments, about 90 of them affordable, 85,400 square feet of retail and dining, 27,000 square feet of co-working space, a 956-vehicle garage, and a 67,000-square-foot elevated public park.

Two more projects join it. Lennar is building 814 apartments across two towers at 60 South Broadway, the old Westchester Pavilion site, with about 50 affordable units. And Waterstone is a $115 million, 132-unit independent-living building on Bloomingdale Road.

To move it all forward, the IDA moved to grant $32.87 million in incentives across the three projects. Those are sales-tax and mortgage-recording-tax exemptions the developers will not have to pay.

Why it matters: That is real public exposure, and the return is worth scrutiny. Of roughly 1,800 new apartments, only about 140 are affordable, under 8 percent. Three mega-projects breaking ground in one downtown at once concentrates the risk, and thousands of new residents will ripple into sales-tax collections and school enrollment for years.

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New county task force starts listening. The Board of Legislators' new Affordability and Economic Development Task Force held its first meeting and launched a countywide listening tour. The series of public meetings will feed a findings report and a set of policy recommendations for 2027.

The affordability math on the towers. Across the three approved White Plains projects, about 140 of roughly 1,800 units are set aside as affordable. Hamilton Green sets its affordable share at 10 percent, aimed at households earning up to 80 percent of area median income. The rest rent at market rate.

What an incentive actually is. The $32.87 million in IDA support is not a cash grant. It is a package of sales-tax and mortgage-recording-tax exemptions. Supporters argue the projects would not pencil out without them; critics counter that the county trades guaranteed revenue now for a projected payoff later.

Here is a question for you: 1,800 new apartments, 140 of them affordable, and $32.87 million in public incentives. Fair trade for a rebuilt downtown, or should the county have demanded more affordable units for the money? Hit reply and tell us where you land.

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