By Peter Katz – August 2, 2021
Developer Louis Cappelli, whose White Plains-based Cappelli Organization includes LRC Construction LLC, and Lennar Multifamily Communities LLC have reached an agreement for Cappelli’s company to take over the stalled construction of The Mitchell apartment project in downtown White Plains, John Callahan, corporation counsel for the city of White Plains confirmed to the Business Journal late on July 30.
Lennar continues to be the project’s developer.
Work on The Mitchell, which is rising along Mitchell Place, Mamaroneck Avenue and East Post Road came to a halt after the contractor Katerra Inc., which had been doing the construction for Lennar, filed for bankruptcy in federal court in Houston in early June. Court documents indicated the company owed from $1.29 billion to $1.55 billion.
Cappelli’s construction teams were expected to begin working at the Mitchell site within a matter of days, Callahan said.
Greg Belew, a regional president for Lennar who has The Mitchell as one of his responsibilities, confirmed the information to the Business Journal on July 31.
“We’re very excited to resume construction and look forward to delivering the completed project to the White Plains market,” Belew told the Business Journal.
He said that although the delays caused by the Katerra situation did slightly affect Lennar’s schedule they now plan to be able to make units available for occupancy in the first quarter of next year.
The Mitchell is being built on properties carrying the addresses of 9 Mitchell Place and 131 Mamaroneck Ave. Previously, Alliance Residential Co. had received approvals for a project it called Broadstone White Plains. LMC bought the properties in 2018.
The parcels cover approximately 2.1 acres. The project involves two 15-story buildings and a six-story parking structure. There would be 434 apartments ranging from studios to three-bedroom units. The plan includes about 8,000 square feet of ground-level retail and restaurant space along Mamaroneck Avenue.
When previously interviewed about the project, Belew, said that the company believed strongly in the potential for The Mitchell.
“The types of environments that you find that tend to be transit oriented also tend to be slightly more dense. When you look at places like White Plains and Stamford that tend to have great commuting options on the train it makes a lot of sense,” Belew said.
“There’s been such a shortage of new rental product in the Northeast that the attitude on the part of a lot of developers was, ‘Build it and they will come.’ Now that there’s been a lot more development in recent times it has forced the development community to produce a high-quality product that’s more fully amenitized. You’ve really gotten into an amenity arms race.”
Cappelli has developed numerous projects such as the City Center and the Ritz-Carlton Residences in White Plains.
Among the many structures his construction company has built are two apartment towers on Bank Street in White Plains, two residential towers in the Atlantic Station project in Stamford, as well as buildings in New Rochelle, Yonkers, Mount Vernon and New York City.
