For three decades, the property which housed the former Soundview Preparatory School has been off the tax roll. When completed, Underhill Farm will provide more than $1 million in additional tax revenue each year for schools and local government.

The centerpiece of Underhill Farm will be the restoration of the historic Underhill House and its reopening to the public. This will require an investment of nearly $1 million to preserve this piece of Yorktown’s history for future generations. Historic preservation experts and restoration professionals will be involved at every step of the renovation project.

Underhill Farm will create a park-like setting that will be open to public use. Through $850,000 in environmentally-conscious investment, Yorktown’s historic ice pond will be renovated and complemented by a new park, walking trails and seating. The pond used to be the town residents’ primary source of ice, which was stored in the lower level of the Underhill House.  The project will also help address the continuous water runoff problem from Glenrock Street.

At no cost to taxpayers, $250,000 will be spent each year to maintain the historic Captain Underhill House and the grounds. The property will be near to self-sufficient, and will have minimal impact on the town, but will offer a new common park for town residents to enjoy.

To connect Underhill Farm to Yorktown Heights’ adjacent central business district, the project invests $300,000 to restore the historic community gateway with a future pedestrian promenade near the intersection of Rte. 118 and Underhill Avenue, as part of the intersection improvement work.

Underhill Farm will help improve the existing traffic congestion at the intersection of Rte. 118 and Underhill Avenue.  After working with a Yorktown engineer to conduct an extensive analysis and develop a traffic mitigation plan, Underhill Farm will invest more than a half of a million dollars in new signals, an American Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant crosswalk, a connection to Beaveridge Senior Apartments and a new turning lane.  As part of that investment $444K will be contributed to improve the intersection at Route 118 and Underhill Avenue.  With approximately 80% of the new housing specially designed for seniors, Underhill Farms will produce far less additional vehicular activity than other similarly sized projects.

Underhill Farm is located next to Beaveridge Senior Apartments. Underhill Farm will include a new access road enabling first responders to quickly reach Beaveridge residents. In addition, Underhill Farm will provide 30 parking spaces for the use of the newly constructed senior center. The access road and parking lot are being provided at no cost to taxpayers.

As part of the environmental remediation work of the project, the existing runoff from the adjacent road Glenrock street will be addressed, which has been an existing issue part of the town for some time. The impacts from the runoff of Glenrock Street, a town road, will be mitigated at no expense to the town.

Green building practices will be implemented into the work of the project. New green initiatives that will include electric vehicular charging stations, geothermal, and solar energy.