Graham Windham School Redevelopment Benefit-Cost Analysis

For a due diligence study requested by the Gotham Organization of the former Graham Windham School in the Village of Hastings-on-Hudson, Urbanomics prepared a cost-benefit analysis and economic impact analysis study for the school’s potential re-use by Gotham in an environmental assessment prepared by BFJ Planning. The proposed redevelopment called for 200 mixed-income housing units in the form of multi-family buildings and townhomes.

Urbanomics prepared a fiscal analysis using the per capita cost method and then marginally adjusted expenditures to represent only the costs for the “next additional resident” to determine the net fiscal impacts to the School District, Village, and Town throughout the 25-year proposed PILOT (payment-in-lieu-of-taxes). Municipal and school district costs were estimated based on the school’s recent use of services and compared with the proposed project’s future service needs and likely local school enrollment impact given changes in the local district’s enrollment growth and municipal population trends. Urbanomics estimated benefits including cumulative and annual PILOT payments, as well as the value of proposed affordable housing units and publicly accessible open space. Net benefits were determined based on the site’s recent use as a non-profit school, a property generating no property taxes, and a fiscal net loss to the village, compared with the proposed residential use. Economic impacts of the construction and occupancy of the proposed project were estimated by Urbanomics using IMPLAN input-output modeling software and local market data.