THE WESTCHESTER BRIEF
Wednesday, April 8, 2026
White Plains approved the largest residential development in its history. Three thousand and one apartments. Seven towers. $2.5 billion. And the project is already smaller than what was proposed.
3,001 APARTMENTS AND A JUNE DEADLINE
The White Plains Common Council unanimously approved zoning changes for District Galleria on December 1, 2025. The developer consortium — Cappelli Organization, Pacific Retail Capital Partners, SL Green Realty, and Aareal Bank — originally proposed 3,200 apartments and 228,940 square feet of commercial space.
What the Council approved: 3,001 apartments and 96,780 square feet of commercial space. That is a 58% reduction in retail and commercial square footage before a single shovel hits the ground. Barnes and Noble, which operated at the adjacent City Center for 20 years, closed in April 2025. The retail footprint downtown continues to shrink.
The affordable housing story is different. The original plan included 384 affordable units (12% of total). The approved plan includes 800 affordable units (27%) — 300 within the residential towers and 500 in two buildings on the municipal garage property. The Council leveraged the rezoning to extract a significantly better deal.
The city approved the sale of the Lexington-Grove garages for $50 million: $5 million down, $17.5 million after Planning Board site plan approval, and $27.5 million via a three-year city mortgage.
Why it matters: The Cappelli Organization's option to purchase expires June 30. If Cappelli does not exercise that option, the project's ownership structure and timeline become uncertain. Site plan submission to the Planning Board is expected this month, but the full project could take up to a decade to complete. White Plains is betting its downtown future on this project. The question is whether a development that is already shrinking will deliver what was promised.
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WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING
Essential Plan Faces July 1 Cliff
The federal government eliminated funding for the expanded tier of the Essential Plan. An estimated 450,000 New Yorkers currently paying zero in premiums could face marketplace plans costing up to $250 per month with a $2,500 deductible. Westchester has roughly 100,000 residents enrolled.
$16M for New Rochelle Housing
Governor Hochul announced $16 million in state funding for New Rochelle's LINC revitalization plan, supporting over 11,000 authorized housing units near the downtown train station. The investment is part of the Mid-Hudson Momentum Fund.
Westchester Names Second Poet Laureate
Phylisha Villanueva, a 32-year-old Yonkers native, was named Westchester's second Poet Laureate on January 23. She will serve a three-year term with a $10,000 annual honorarium. She co-founded The Yonkers Writing Group and plans to bring poetry into galleries, barbershops, and hiking trails across the county.
ONE MORE THING
The Galleria Mall defined downtown White Plains for a generation. Now it is gone, and 3,001 apartments are supposed to replace it. If you live, work, or shop in White Plains, what do you want to see in that commercial space? Reply and tell us.
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