Wilder Balter Acquires Tarrytown YMCA Building for Nearly $6.5 Million

TARRYTOWN—Wilder Balter Partners Inc. of Chappaqua has acquired the iconic YMCA building in Tarrytown for $6.45 million and plans to redevelop the property into affordable housing project.

The development firm plans to convert the four-story brick building at 62 Main St. into 109 units of affordable housing. The project will also feature additional parking for nearby merchants.

The Family YMCA at Tarrytown property is a 41,537-square-foot building that was originally constructed in 1928 and had significant additions and wings added to it over the years. The building sits on 1.2 acres on a hill with frontage on Main Street in the village’s downtown shopping district.

“This really was a partnership from the very beginning between the YMCA, RM Friedland, Wilder Balter, Tarrytown Merchants Council and village government. We all came together to see what was really important to the village while preserving affordable housing,” said John Barrett, managing director-investment sales division of RM Friedland, which was the broker for the sale. Barrett worked alongside Katelin Van Voorhis of RM Friedland’s retail team who acted as the team lead for the facility relocation component of the assignment. The Tarrytown YMCA is temporarily relocating to the EF International School in Tarrytown.

The YMCA has provided supportive housing for 42 men, as well as providing daycare services and a fitness program. Like many non-profits, they are unable to sustain themselves and decided to continue to provide daycare services and the fitness program and exit the supportive housing business. In order to raise funds, they chose to sell their building and look to acquire a new property, RM Friedland noted.

“We advised them for nine months before they put the property on the market regarding the positioning of the property and how they would announce it to the community,” Barrett said.

He added that the property went on the market in September 2019 and within 60 days it received 20 offers. And within 90 days the property went into hard contract. “That’s fairly fast for a development site,” said Barrett. “And we got the full asking price,” he added.

Between the time the contract was signed and closed, Barrett and the buyer met with stakeholders which included the Tarrytown Merchants Council, village officials and local condominium association. It was agreed that the façade of the 93-year-old building was to be preserved. The merchants’ main concern was the need for additional parking. Developer Bill Balter agreed to provide 100 additional parking spaces for the exclusive use of the merchants, Barrett noted.

“This transaction was a success on many levels. We increased the number of affordable units and boosted the parking for Downtown Tarrytown, a vital component of the success of a downtown village shopping. It’s a win-win for everyone involved—the seller, the purchaser, the merchants, the village government and the community,” he added.