Astorino to Sign SPI, Children's Museum Contracts Tuesday

Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino will sign a Westchester Children's Museum lease and the Sustainable Playland Inc. (SPI) asset management agreement on Tuesday, his office announced today. The SPI contract moves the non-profit group closer to investing $34 million in the 280-acre park and taking over its management, but Astorino’s is not the final signature needed. A political debate surrounding Astorino’s selection of SPI may keep the group from realizing its plan to reinvent Playland.

With the signing, SPI has 30 days to submit a Playland Improvement Plan (PIP) that outlines the material changes the group proposes to make when they take over park management. The Board of Legislators (BOL) must approve the PIP by Dec. 31, 2013 or SPI can withdraw from the agreement. Several Democratic members of the BOL have opposed that Astorino selected SPI without their input and have continued to vet several other groups interested in the management agreement. While the County Executive does have the authority to sign off on an asset management agreement, any changes to the to the existing land, buildings and infrastructure at Playland Park need to be approved by the BOL, a county lawyer decided earlier this year.

Last week, Chairman Ken Jenkins (D-Yonkers) issued a press release that “cautioned” all parties involved that deals and contracts at the park “remain in flux and contingent on court decisions and BOL approvals.” Jenkins filed a legal challenge to a recent vote to approve the management agreement with SPI in New York Supreme Court on May 23, 2013.

The Children’s Museum contract will allow the group to move forward with plans to turn the North Bathhouse at Playland into the museum. They aim to open the doors by the summer of 2015. That contract includes a clause that it will operate under the management umbrella of SPI, although it will be a separate vendor, and that it will cooperate with SPI as it seeks approvals of its Playland Improvement Plan.

 SPI Asset Management Agreement

The asset management agreement with SPI states that SPI, which is a Rye-based non-profit formed for the purpose of investing in and taking over management of Playland, will run the park, maintain the grounds and manage the vendors who operate activities on the property. The terms of the 10-year agreement include a 10-year option to renew and call for SPI to invest $34 million in private capital into the park.

SPI will pay the county a base fee that could eventually total $4 million, provided all zones (aqua, field houses, indoor and outdoor ice rinks, a great lawn, indoor multi-use facility and restaurants) become operational. SPI will make annual payments to the county based on the park’s net operating revenue, which they estimate to be about $1.2 million per year once the park is fully developed. These payments will go towards retiring the county’s existing $32 million of existing dept at Playland.

Democratic legislators have said they are not convinced of the financial viability of the plan.

“I am concerned the county still has liability for the debt,” said Chair of the Government Operations Committee Catherine Borgia (D-Ossining) last fall when first hearing of the plan.

SPI Operational Plan – How Will Playland Change for Visitors?

Admission to the park, boardwalk, pier (still closed due to Hurricane Sandy damage) and to Edith Read Sanctuary will be free all year round. Throughout the park, attractions will be grouped into a variety of zones and visitors will “pay as you go,” for the different attractions.

The zones:

·      An aqua zone, featuring a mini-water park and beach attractions

·      Outdoor ball fields and an indoor field house

·      Renovated indoor ice rink and a new outdoor winter rink

·      A Great Lawn, that will provide enhanced public access to the Long Island Sound and add attractive multi-use space to the park.

·      Indoor multi-use facility, which can be rented for parties, weddings, meetings and conferences

·      New restaurants. 

Click here to read more about SPI’s operational plan.

Westchester Children’s Museum Contract

The museum will lease the approximately 21,390 square-foot North Bath House at Playland for 10 years. They will operate as a non-profit organization and will only be required to pay $1 a year in rent for the 10-year-period. The cheap rent is in return for the group’s investing more than $7 million in infrastructure improvements to the bathhouse. Read more on their plans here.

Astorino’s office reports:

“The Westchester Children’s Museum will be a celebration of childhood. Exhibit areas will contain experiential laboratories, interactive art pieces, sculptural elements, hidden worlds, climbing structures, and physical connections to the outdoors. The museum’s exhibits and programs will draw from the region’s rich history, cultural diversity, flourishing ecosystems, and literary and artistic traditions.”

“The Westchester Children’s Museum projects it will add over $4 million a year to the local economy while creating much needed construction and permanent jobs, encouraging tourism, and reinvigorating Playland – all while preserving a national historic landmark.”

Do you want to see SPI over management of Playland? Are you looking forward to the Children’s Museum? Share your thoughts in the comments.