Station Plan Could Serve As Beacon For New York Region
The second-largest commuter railroad in the nation is pushing its first-ever transit-oriented development project in Beacon, N.Y. Project officials hope that the 18-acre plan in Dutchess County, north of New York City, will set a new standard in public participation levels and transit-agency-led initiative for other TOD projects in the congested Northeast.
Five developer teams responded to a Request for Expressions of Interest on Feb. 7. The RFEI was the result of five years of working with 20 stakeholder groups. “We built a 100% consensus,” claims Larry Rosenbloom, executive vice president of architecture and planning with Urbitran Group, New York City, a consultant to Metro-North Railroad, part of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority. “For a transportation agency like Metro-North to take the lead is unique.”