Town Looking into Buying Bedford Hills Train Station

For over 150 years, Depot Plaza has been the hub of Bedford Hills.

And though tickets are no longer sold from its windows, the old depot stands as a reminder of days past, when there was no Saw Mill Parkway and the New York Central Railroad was the primary mode of transporting people and products to New York City. 

Now the town of Bedford is considering a $655,000 purchase of the train station that has been railroad-owned since 1904.

The MTA is in the process of selling suburban stations they no longer have a need for, according to town officials, and last year asked if the town was willing to acquire the station. Initially, the response was no, given the real estate cost in cash-strapped times.

But now officials are re-considering the matter, given the role of the historic structure in the town's history, the parking spaces it includes for residents and the rental income resulting from a lease to Mark's Time, a watch and clock retailer housed in the building for the last 12 years, and other potential tenants.

"The board discussed ways to purchase building and our appraiser said the price is more than fair," said Bedford Supervisor Lee Roberts at a recent town meeting. She said officials were completing due diligence including inspecting the state of the building's septic system. 

If the town does not purchase the historic property, the MTA will sell it to the highest bidder in an auction, Roberts said.

Board member Chris Burdick said the board was approving an investigation into buying the building—not an actual purchase. "Some may wonder why would we consider such a purchase in these stressful financial times? The point here is that this is going to most likely be the only opportunity we have to look at it and inquire.