A new look taking hold in New Rochelle storefronts

As the New Rochelle skyline grows taller, the look of commercial buildings closer to the ground in the city's downtown is undergoing a transformation of its own.
Using a pool of grants and low-interest loans, about 40 storefronts along a stretch of Main Street and several intersecting blocks have been renovated or are in the midst of plans to do so.

The facade program is part of a much larger commercial redevelopment program that business and government leaders have launched in tandem with the construction of residential towers and the conversion of smaller downtown buildings into apartments.

The city's Business Improvement District estimates that 2,000 residential units are under construction. The hope is that as people move to New Rochelle, the roughly 350 downtown businesses will thrive - provided that newcomers find a lively and attractive commercial neighborhood within walking distance of their homes.

Ralph DiBart, executive director of the BID and a linchpin of the downtown's new look, estimates that $75 million has been invested in the business district in the past 6 1/2 years. Some business people have taken advantage of BID mortgage programs that have allowed them to gut and rehabilitate buildings for new office or loft rental space.

But the most visible development on Main Street is the facade program, which couples 3 percent, 10-year loans with grants for up to 50 percent of the cost of exterior renovations. Such projects can cost $120,000 or more and, without the BID assistance, are beyond the budget of the average small business.

The program has turned around the appearance of large blocks in and around Main Street, where the historical architecture of many 19th-century buildings was concealed by stucco or aluminum layered on over the decades

"It's literally transformed the whole physical environment on these blocks," DiBart said— sometimes with surprising results.

When The Curtain Shop at 541 Main St. opted into the facade program, most of the windows of the three-story building were concealed by a stucco finish. The rehab work had an element of uncertainty, business owner Louis Vaccaro said, since designers couldn't be sure what they were working with until the stucco was removed.

"We knew they (the windows) had been there. We weren't sure what condition they would be in," said Vaccaro, whose business partner owns the building. "It worked out to the best-case scenario."

The large windows have not only brightened the look of the store's second floor, they have also attracted customers angling for good views of the street during city parades. Vaccaro is pleased with the transformation of what he said had once been a "pretty ugly building."

"It's a win-win situation," he said. "The building's in better shape cosmetically, and the street looks better because of it."

Bob Kahn, a member of the BID board of directors, owns Diamond Glass at 555 Main St. He opted for an inside-and-out renovation of his building, installing two apartments and new commercial space on the second floor, which a martial arts school is leasing.

He foresees some empty storefronts on Main filling up as more residents move into the downtown.

"The glass is more than half-full. You have to work at it," said Kahn, who bought the building 18 years ago. "You've got to be a part of the process."

DiBart said the BID provides free feasibility studies of building renovations for businesses that are serious about making changes. He wants to build on the momentum of the improvements, trying to persuade Main Street landlords who haven't signed up for a facade project to consider doing so.

Pressures both overt and subtle play on building owners with down-at-the-heels property. They could lose tenants to better-looking locations just across the street. And few business people want the distinction of owning the ugliest building on their block.

DiBart said he is a "little bit shameless" about pressing those buttons when trying to sell the facade program to landlords on the fence.

"Are you sure you don't want to take advantage of this while we have the grant money?" he tells them.

Mike Roy/The Journal News

Louis Vaccaro, owner of The Curtain Shop in New Rochelle, participated in a city-sponsored facade development program that helped the business secure low-interest loans to resurface the front of its shop.

Here's what The Curtain Shop looked like before its old stucco facade was removed.

Mike Roy/The Journal News

Here's what The Curtain Shop looks like today after its facade was renovated.

To learn more about the facade improvement program, contact Ralph DiBart, BID's executive director, at 914-960-1460, or go online at www.newrochelledowntown.com.