Rendering of townhouses

CHESTER - The Chester Village Board Monday evening deemed as complete the draft environmental impact statement for the Labrador Properties’ proposed housing development on 68 acres of property that straddles the Village and Town of Chester.

The plan calls for 100 units of senior citizen rental housing and 358 townhouse units that will sell from the low $300,000s to the mid-$400,000s, depending upon whether they are two- or three-bedroom homes.

Company Principal Frank Nussbaum termed the project “smart growth,” based on its combined housing uses and its proximity to shopping.

“This is really the only major development in this area that is really fitting that description of smart growth, bordering, literally walking distance, to the Chester Mall and everything around there, and a short distance to the village downtown,” he said.

The project, which is estimated to cost $75 million to $80 million to construct, already fulfills the mandate of the comprehensive plan, said Nussbaum.

The village will net $334,000 in benefit per year and the town would net $58,000 in benefit per year. The Chester Union Free School District would receive $1.6 million annual, which the DEIS said would cover associated school child expenses.

Since the townhouses would be geared toward empty nesters and young professionals, the environmental impact statement projects 121 school age children in the entire complex.

The company would hope to annex the town portion of the property into the village and pay for the upgrades necessary to use village water and wastewater.

Nussbaum said he has been working on the project for some four to five years and he estimates it could take another two years to secure the necessary government approvals to move forward and break ground.