Landmark designation may impede major mixed-use development in White Plains

A massive mixed-use development is planned for the 16-acre site of the former Good Counsel Academy in White Plains, but a recommendation from the city’s Historic Preservation Commission to make the buildings a local historic landmark may complicate the project. WP Development bought the property for $16.2 million in 2015 and proposed building two 10-story towers with 400 apartments, an assisted living facility and 70 dorm-style units for Pace University’s Elisabeth Haub School of Law. The commission made the landmark recommendation to “ensure that the city has a voice in any changes development might bring,” Chairman Rob Hoch told the Journal News. The developer’s plans call for eight of the century-old original buildings to be demolished, but the chapel and 1860s-era Mapleton mansion would be preserved. The property is already listed on the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places. [Lohud]