August 24, 2011:  When a structure with limited ingress and egress, originally built for storage and manufacturing purposes, sits in a retail and residential environment, it becomes a "non-conforming use" property.

Sid Blauner, new owner of the Manhattan Storage building in downtown Bronxville, plans to meet the challenges of rehabilitating the building by applying creativity to envision possible uses and bringing his ideas before the village planning board and zoning board.  He belongs to a development company that networks with other similar developers who buy and repurpose old industrial buildings.

"The big issue is parking and what the village will let us do there, more than what we'd like to do," Blauner said.  "That's always been the issue with the building.  We hope that if we do something exciting enough that's a winner for Bronxville, we can obtain the zoning variance we need."

Village Engineer Vince Pici echoed Blauner's statement about parking.  "The problem with the building is definitely parking," he said.  "It's a limited-access building.  The only ingress and egress is by way of an alley between the Wine & Spirits Emporium and Studio One Hair Designers."

The building has 36,000 square feet of space on three levels.  Blauner stated that previous owners submitted plans to the village in 2006 for 6,000 square feet of office space and 18,000 square feet of residential condominiums.  Blauner's plans take a different direction.

"We have talked with a boutique hotel, personal trainers, gyms, yoga studios, and a number of restaurateurs.  Those particular restaurateurs have expressed an interest in urban farming, growing produce indoors with hydroponic systems, LED lighting, and solar and wind power on the roof."  Blauner said he has considered the possibility of holding a small farmers' market in the building, staffed by high school students who work as interns, and selling produce grown there.

Blauner holds the vision of creating a synergistic "village" within the Manhattan Storage building, a cohort of fifteen to eighteen small businesses and perhaps even office space offered to entrepreneurs on a "hotel" basis for a few weeks or months at a time.  "Many people have been outsourced," he said, "and they need a facility to network with other people.  We could provide a place for that."

"We have the building and now we're looking for the creative power to make it a viable business," Blauner said.  "We'd love to see something along the lines of what Tarrytown has done on Main Street with art galleries and antique stores."  Since parking poses a problem, Blauner is also thinking about the viability of having businesses that will draw an evening crowd.  "Maybe the building can open at 6:00 pm and stay open until midnight.  Later hours might provide a solution to the parking situation."  He stated that he hopes the building will house some type of educational pursuit, perhaps along the lines of a cooking school that could hold courses during the day as well as offer evening classes.

Blauner is working with a local architect on the building, but no definite plans for the inside of the building have been drawn up yet because there are no firm tenants.  For the time being, Blauner is working on the outside of the building.  The brick façade had peeled away and he has invested significant funds to stabilize that façade and make it safe.  He stated that the building can probably safely hold two to three hundred people.  That would require construction of a second stairwell within the building and a second exit that would be on the same side of the building as the existing exit.

The next phase of the work to rehabilitate the Manhattan Storage building, Blauner stated, involves formulating the business model.  "I'm looking for people with a vision--people with a development vision who can get people together to do something new."  He explained that he needs a definite business plan in place before approaching the planning board.

"I'd like to see this building as an incubator for ideas and small businesses that will grow.  I think that's the future not only for Bronxville and Westchester, but for the country as a whole," Blauner said.

Pictured here:  View of the top section of the Manhattan Storage building located behind CVS on Pondfield Road in the middle of the Bronxville business district.

Photo by A. Warner