HARRISON – The Town of Village of Harrison and Metro-North Railroad have signed a predevelopment agreement to develop property on the south side of the tracks owned by the railroad.

The concept for downtown revitalization anchored by transit-oriented development at the Harrison Station is branded as “It’s Happening in Harrison.”

The railroad said it will transform the commuter parking lots along Halstead Avenue into “an attractive and vibrant downtown development project with potential residential, retail and municipal uses, pedestrian plaza, a new parking structure and streetscape improvements.

The development would be built on a more than three acre parcel.

Under the agreements, the town, village and railroad will complete the necessary technical work and issue a request for proposals for the selection of a qualified developer.

The Harrison project is one of several transit-oriented development projects involving Metro-North. The “Be in Beacon” project at the Beacon train station was launched in 2007 and has advanced to transit-oriented development zoning and RFP preparation stage. Similar planning is in the formative stages at the Poughkeepsie station.