Collins selects Yonkers for luxury project.

In May, residents will begin occupying apartments in Hudson Park, a new, luxury two-building, 266-unit rental complex on the banks of the Hudson River and at the base of Main Street in Yonkers. Once Hudson Park is completed, it will be the first new ground-up housing development on the riverfront of Yonkers in 30 years.

A question that often comes up is why our company, Collins Enterprises, L.L.C., chose to build in Yonkers. Yonkers is New York State's fourth largest city and a place that had been mired in political controversy and non-growth in terms of economic development for years.

Instead of viewing Yonkers as a problem, we saw the city as an opportunity for growth. The riverfront site on which Hudson Park now stands offers close proximity to Manhattan (a train ride to Grand Central Station takes only 28 minutes), unparalleled vistas of the Hudson, the Palisades to the west and The George Washington Bridge with Manhattan to the south and The Tappan Zee Bridge to the north. As developers, we were looking for strategically located urban redevelopment sites near good transportation, in employment centers of urban fringes. Yonkers seemed a clear choice for development.

In 1997, Collins submitted a Master Plan for development of the Yonkers Waterfront to the City of Yonkers and Westchester County. In 1998, we were designated to build on the 2.25-acre riverfront property. At the time, plans were in place to redevelop the city's 4.5 mile riverfront, as well as portions of the downtown.

By the year 2000, the city dedicated itself to a $200 million (in both public and private funds) economic development project, which included the renovation of the Beaux-Arts Metro-North railroad station house and platform, a $13 million waterfront promenade called Esplanade Park, a $23 million parking garage, a new library building (adding to the former Otis Elevator factory) which houses both the Yonkers Public Library and the Yonkers Board of Education, and the renovation of the building where a newspaper, The Gazette Press, had once operated and will now be offices, residences, restaurants and shops. We broke ground on Hudson Park in December of 2001.

By 2003, all of these projects were completed, greatly transitioning Yonkers into a residential haven. It appears that ferry service will soon be available from the Yonkers city pier, adjacent to Hudson Park, providing another route for quick access to Manhattan. Zuppa, an upscale restaurant on lower Main Street has already opened and a bakery designed by world-famous sculptress Maya Lin, The Greyston Mandala broke ground last month. Peter Kelly, who owns a "top-of-the-line" restaurant in New Jersey, is expected to open Xaviar's on the Hudson on the pier just steps from the Hudson Park apartments. And only minutes away is the Philipsburg Performing Arts Center, housed in the historic Philipsburgh Building in downtown Getty Square.

The Center is a showcase for chamber music, jazz, dance, choral and orchestral performances, film exhibitions, and lectures.

We have been fortunate and feel proud to be nearing completion of this gracious, riverfront community at Hudson Park. Bay windows, high speed internet access, multiple telephone outlets, cable access, full carpeting, and state-of-the-art appliances are included in the residences, which are all one-and two-bedroom units. Each apartment boasts spacious closets, linen closets, washers and dryers and garbage disposals. Patios and balconies are available in select units.

The Hudson Park community also includes two executive business centers, a 24-hour health club, a concierge, a dry cleaning service and an elegant clubroom and garage parking for the tenants. In Hudson Park's 20,000 SF of commercial space, we are oversubscribed with offers for a gourmet deli, a pharmacy, restaurants and several dry cleaners.

We have shown the apartments to a broad spectrum of tenants, from young professionals, to empty nesters, to people relocating from New York City who are looking for a more peaceful existence. That is the growing market that has already visited Hudson Park looking for a new lifestyle.

Our mission at Collins has been focused on large-scale urban redevelopment that we have followed for years. Our plan is to develop in cities where a funded master plan for redevelopment exists, where there is a pro-business administration in place and where there are financial incentives for new development. It is a credit to the City of Yonkers that these principles have been their guide in the rebirth of this city.