Carvana Eyes Fishkill Avenue

Auto dealer would lease former Healey lot

While a committee appointed by Beacon’s mayor studies the potential rezoning of a 1-mile stretch of Fishkill Avenue, a national used car dealer hopes to soon occupy one of the four parcels in the corridor recently vacated by Healey Brothers.

Carvana, an online retailer, has submitted plans to the Planning Board to establish a facility at 410 Fishkill Ave. If approved, the company would operate out of the 17,000-square-foot building there. Healey Hyundai formerly occupied the space. 

In January, Mayor Lee Kyriacou named 10 residents to the Fishkill Avenue Concepts Committee to develop ideas and advise the City Council on access, zoning, streetscapes and viewsheds along the corridor. The committee is expected to report to the council by fall.

While Healey had 60 employees at its dealership, Carvana, which would lease the property, would have about 15, project engineer Dan Koehler told the Planning Board on Tuesday (March 12). The Healey dealership displayed cars on the lot for customers to browse while filling as many as 55 daily service appointments, but the Carvana model differs because consumers browse vehicles online and, after purchase, have their car delivered or pick it up at a facility such as the one proposed for Fishkill Avenue, he said. 

Carvana would detail and conduct state inspections on vehicles at the site, said Jenn Roldan, a company representative. It would not use the lot to store inventory but would expect 10 to 20 pick-ups daily, she said. 

The city’s Conservation Advisory Committee sent the Planning Board a memo earlier this month asking that it require secure garbage enclosures at the site and not allow Carvana to plow snow downhill on the east side of the property, toward Fishkill Creek. When Healey Brothers pushed snow toward the creek, it was often embedded with garbage, or garbage blown from open containers ended up in the creek, the CAC said.

The committee also asked the board to ensure lighting at the site adheres to city codes. The CAC said that current lighting can be seen across the creek on Liberty Street when foliage is down. 

248 Tioronda Ave.

The Planning Board scheduled a public hearing for next month on amendments requested by the owner of the 248 Tioronda development, which has been approved for 64 apartments and a 25,400-square-foot commercial building.

The most significant proposed change would be to move the Fishkill Creek Greenway and Heritage Trail away from flood-prone areas and eliminate a staircase, a project official said. The developer also granted the greenway access to a small island in the creek and agreed to dedicate four parking spaces for greenway users. 

409 Fishkill Ave.

The Planning Board on Tuesday held a public hearing on a proposal by Soka Gakkai International (SGI) to lease and repurpose 409 Fishkill Ave., another former Healey lot, as a Buddhist worship center. 

SGI said it is not planning any new construction, only a new facade on the 5,500-square-foot one-story building. A representative said Tuesday that the group plans to host gatherings of about 100 people on the first Sunday morning of each month, along with more frequent weeknight gatherings of about 30 people. 

The site, which consists of six parcels that would be combined through a subdivision, has 50 parking spaces. A handful of residents who spoke during the hearing asked about fencing around the property and noise and traffic at the site early in the morning and late at night. 

A 6-foot stockade fence would be erected to replace dilapidated fencing behind the building, SGI said, and there will be no outdoor speakers. The rear door, which is the entrance closest to neighbors on Mead Avenue, will be used only for emergencies and trash, said Dan Koehler, the project engineer. 

The Planning Board closed the public hearing and authorized its attorney to draft a resolution to approve the project to be considered next month. 

Mirbeau Spa and Hotel

The Planning Board scheduled a public hearing for its April meeting on Mirbeau’s request to amend its site plan for the Tioronda Estate, which includes the former Craig House psychiatric hospital. 

The company, which received board approval in 2022 to open a luxury spa and hotel at the site, has decided not to demolish a 1978 dining wing because of rising construction and material costs. The structure will instead be renovated. Plans for the 1859 mansion to be converted into a 75-room hotel; five rental cottages; a chateau with guest rooms and the viewshed along Route 9D have not changed. 

Retaining the dining wing will save Mirbeau millions of dollars, said Ed Kellogg, one of the owners of the company, while Beacon planning consultant Natalie Quinn noted that “the greenest building you can do is restoration of an existing building.”

Mirbeau also said it no longer plans to build seven ground-floor “grotto” rental rooms. The rooms will be absorbed by other buildings, so the overall count for the facility will not change. 

Kellogg told the Planning Board that Mirbeau would begin clearing trees this week, followed by the demolition of selected structures. 

Edgewater

The Planning Board held a public hearing Tuesday and approved a request by the developer of the 246-unit Edgewater complex to subdivide the property into seven lots for financing purposes. 

The City Council recently approved a zoning amendment to allow developers of residential and mixed-use projects with multiple buildings to “internally” subdivide so that individual buildings are recorded as separate lots. Such subdivisions allow developers to separate construction loans for one lot, for example, from long-term financing for the remainder of a site.

The subdivision does not change the terms of Edgewater’s 2018 site plan approval by the Planning Board.