Bedford Playhouse Site Sold to NYC Developer

The Bedford Playhouse building and its surrounding land in Bedford Village have been sold, changing ownership for the second time in less than two years.

Owner Phoenix Bedford, LLC sold the property to Alchemy Properties Inc, a New York City firm whose track record includes an ongoing project to convert the upper 30 stories of the Woolworth Building into condominiums.

Alchemy founder Kenneth Horn, who confirmed the deal, told Patch that it closed on June 7, describing the matter as an “opportunity that came to us.”

Horn described Bedford has a “beautiful, bucolic town,” and expressed interest in the building’s mix, which includes the Bedford Playhouse movie theater, retail shops and housing.

According to a sales listing from White Plains-based GHP Office Realty, the 3-story building is 36,000 square feet, has 25 apartments and six stores. Non-theater retail tenants include the Meetinghouse restaurant. The Bedford Village site is 3.14 acres and carries the address of 633-647 Old Post Road.

Phoenix’s ownership period was a brief one. According to town records, it purchased the property in September 2011 from a trio of previous owners: GHP Bedford LLC, AMG LLC and 701 West 177th St. LLC. The site, at the time, was sold for $5,470,000, according to town records. The records, which are from the town assessor’s office also give the property has a full-market value of $2,870,079 and an assessed value of $328,050.

The change of ownership in property is also the second time this year that the theater has been affected. This spring, it was announced that parent company Cablevision was selling the theaters in its Clearview Cinemas division, including the Playhouse, to Bowtie Cinemas. That deal was competed on Thursday, according to media reports.

New Owner Mulls Developing Adjacent Space That Was Subject of Public Session

Like Phoenix, Alchemy is interested in developing a vacant piece of land that is directly to the north of the Playhouse building, which was included in the deal.

Horn told Patch that the matter would be looked at “with a fresh set of eyes” and with the town. What type of development and what approach would be taken have not yet been determined, Horn explained.

Phoenix, which is based in Harrison, has a connection with a similarly named company, called Phoenix Capital Partners, LLC, which shares the same address and has been referred to as the owner. A principal in that company, Purchase resident Frank Boccanfuso, was the one who floated the development idea. Boccanfuso’s lawyer told Patch in April that he was interested in a mix-used concept for the site, including retail and housing that would meet Westchester County’s requirements under its federal settlement to have affordable housing built in predominately white areas. That area is about two acres and has residential zoning, it was announced at the time.

The zoning types diverge for the area, according to The Record Review, which first covered the sale and reported that the Playhouse building has commercial zoning.

A unique approach was taken by Boccanfuso in April, as a planning meeting called a charette was held to gauge public input before any specific proposal was decided on. At the meeting, held on April 22, the report was that residents’ concerns range from traffic impact to what the development would fit in with Bedford Village, a hamlet whose downtown has an historical aesthetic.

Phoenix Period Included Turbulence

While Phoenix owned the property it also encountered conflicts with others in the community.

Just days after acquiring the property, the owner of an adjacent site at 12 Court St. sued, claiming that water being supplied to it by the Playhouse site as part of an easement was unilaterally shut off, depriving the building of drinking water. The site’s owner, Allan Gordon, argued that the prescriptive easement was violated and wanted an injunction to have the water restored. The water supply agreement for the properties, Gordon’s attorney wrote at the time, dated back to about the 1970s.

Phoenix’s attorney disputed Gordon’s argument, according to court records. He claimed that shutting off the water was allowed and that it was turned on again later that month. The attorney also denied the existence of an easement and stated that his client was not legally bound to supply water. The lawsuit also named Boccanfuso, Phoenix Capital Partners and business partner James Arcara as defendants. Both sides agreed to have the suit dropped the following April.

Boccanfuso and Arcara could not be reached for comment.

In January 2012, Phoenix reportedly also came under fire for having boulders placed in Playhouse’s rear parking lot, which blocked traffic from entered. The owner had the boulders removed after the Town of Bedford got involved and argued that the boulders posed a code violation because parking is required for commercial tenants. At the time, Patch reported that the boulders were installed in December 2011 and angered annoyed merchants who felt it meant fewer parking spaces for shoppers during the holiday season.