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A scoping session was held Wednesday at the Joseph J. Caputo Community Center on a proposal by Glenco, a Bronxville-based real estate developer, to build a 188-unit high-rise building on Croton Dam Road.
The luxury apartment building would be situated on the 18-acre former site of Stony Lodge Hospital. The acute psychiatric facility for children and adolescents was closed several years ago.
Residents told town planners at the session that they were worried about increased traffic, especially at the intersection of Route 134 and Route 9A.
Glenco principal Glen Vetromile said Thursday that his company submitted a 200-page traffic study in November 2015.
Among the recommendations it made were improvements to that particular intersection, such as turning lanes, he said.
Vetromile said Glenco hopes to preserve 75 percent of the site as open space.
Plans call for 169 market-rate units and 19 affordable ones, he said.
Residents also expressed concerns Wednesday about cars turning onto Croton Dam Road from Hawkes Avenue, Pheasant Ridge, and Cherry Hill Circle, and about traffic near Veterans Park.
Residents asked the town to study how many accidents had taken place on Croton Dam Road, which is steep and winding in parts.
Vetromile said that that information is already included in the traffic study.
Ossining Schools Superintendent Ray Sanchez told planners Wednesday that enrollment in the district is already at full capacity.
The district is expecting enrollment to rise significantly, Sanchez said.
Residents said they were afraid that children from the proposed complex would contribute to overcrowding in the schools.
Vetromile said Glenco has been working with school officials on the enrollment impact issue.
Statistical studies show, he said, that a project of this kind – which only has one- and two-bedrooms apartments – could generate about 25 more children.
Vetromile said that the company agreed in December to make “direct payments” to the school district to help it adapt, expand or build classroom space should the need arise.
Potential uses for the old hospital site were addressed in the town’s comprehensive plan, which was updated about a year ago, Vetromile said.
The company is asking planners to adopt a multi-family use for the property, he added.
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