Fed Policy Changes, Could Delay or Kill Some Local Projects

WHITE PLAINS—While the session was focused on highlighting transformational mixed-use projects in Westchester County, the major news from the program came from several developers and business executives who say that new anti-green funding policies and increased costs due to tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration could cause significant adverse impacts on development projects under construction and others on the drawing boards.

The conference presented by the Business Council of Westchester entitled: “Focus on Westchester’s Most Transformational Projects” featured: Joseph Apicella, executive vice president of MacQuesten Development LLC of Pelham; Adam Bosch, president of Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress of Newburgh; Bill Balter, president of WBP Development LLC of Chappaqua; Joan McDonald, director of operations, Westchester County; Richard Nightingale, president and CEO of Westhab of Yonkers and Stuart Rabin, village manager of the Village of Port Chester. The moderator of the program was Marsha Gordon, president and CEO of the Business Council of Westchester.

For the majority of the program, held on March 10 in White Plains, the panelists discussed how developers and investors are attracted to municipalities that welcome new development, particularly mixed-use projects that include some affordable units to address the shortage of workforce housing. In addition, larger developments tend to be located near Metro-North train stations in Westchester County. They also noted that without subsidies or incentives from the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency, New York State, municipalities and the federal government, many of their projects could not move forward.

However, when broaching potential headwinds to the new development sector, several panelists did not hold back on potential negative impacts from policies and tariffs either proposed or implemented by the Trump administration.

Apicella noted that the Trump administration seems intent on eliminating or severely cutting back on federal green energy funding, which he said is critical to many new development projects, particularly those that are focused on including sustainability-related amenities.

If those green funds are not available or clawed back by the Trump administration, “Some of the projects that we already have in the pipeline that are going to begin construction or are already under construction may become economically challenged as a result of this,” Apicella said.

He added that the business community needs to understand, “This is not about politics. This is about endangering the ability of us (developers) to move forward and build quality affordable housing,” he said.

Pattern for Progress’ Bosch interjected that he recently had conversations with four developers in the Hudson Valley who are very concerned over President Trump’s proposed tariffs on Canadian lumber, which is used extensively in the homebuilding industry, including by most home builders in the Hudson Valley.

The developers told Bosch, “If they started building it already, they are going to forge ahead. But for the projects that they have not sort of started to put into the ground, they are sticking them in neutral. They are going back and sitting on the bench.”

He added that one developer noted that a project that 30 days ago was estimated to cost $15 million, has recently shot up another $1.3 million in cost due to higher lumber costs related to the uncertainty about tariffs on Canadian goods. The developer told Bosch: “I can’t find enough nickels in my couch cushions to cover that $1.3 million.”

Westchester County’s McDonald noted that if developers have projects in the pipeline with federal funding in place, the county’s Planning Department will assist them in completing paperwork to help them qualify for federal funds so they can move their projects forward expeditiously.

She added, “Let’s not leave any money on the table that we know of right now. The future is unpredictable. We don’t know what is going to happen, but if you know you have money, we will help you get it.”

Major Takeaways from the Panel:

WBP Development’s Balter, whose firm recently completed the adaptive reuse of the former YMCA property in Tarrytown, said the regulatory process has become harder over the past few years, but communities that are proactive in providing affordable housing are “changing the game.”
He noted that his firm has seen interest rates more than double over the past five years and construction costs rise approximately 30% since the beginning of the COVID pandemic. “We really want to go to communities that want us and there is now enough of an understanding of affordable housing and the asset that it is for communities that there are a lot of communities that are pulling us into their world and saying, ‘This is what we want, here is how we are going to help you,’” Balter said.
Westhab’s Nightingale said that the county currently has a “housing supply crisis and an unbelievably acute affordable housing supply crisis.” Westhab, which is a not-for-profit affordable housing developer, requires a host of funding sources to build quality developments for families that earn well below the county’s median income. Nightingale said that more than 40% of Westchester households (renters and home owners) are housing cost burdened (paying approximately 30% or more of their monthly income on housing).
Port Chester’s Rabin said that approximately 5,000 units of housing have been approved in the village, which includes approximately 500 affordable units (at 60% AMI) based on the village’s recently adopted form-based code.
MacQuesten Development’s Apicella said that demand for multifamily housing is still very strong. He noted that for its latest mixed-use, affordable project at 1510 Broadway in Brooklyn, his firm received 60,000 qualified applications for its 108 units.