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About White Plains
City of White Plains is the County seat of Westchester County, New York. It
is located in the south-central of Westchester, about 4 miles (6 km) east of the
Hudson River and 2.5 miles (4.0 km) northwest of Long Island Sound. It is
bordered to the north by the town of North Castle, to the north and east by the
town/village of Harrison, to the south by the town/village of Scarsdale and to
the west by the town of Greenburgh. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total
population of 53,077, but a 2002 census estimate put the city's population at
over 55,000 and subsequent residential development has raised this figure even
higher. White Plains is one of the edge cities that have developed outside of
New York City. The daytime weekday population is estimated at over 200,000.
Modern history
Early in the 20th century, White Plains' downtown area developed into a dominant
suburban shopping district and featured branch stores of many famous New
York-based department and specialty stores. Some of these retail locations were
the first large scale suburban stores built in America, and ushered in the
eventual post-World War II building boom. With the construction of the parkways
and expressways in the 1940s and 1960s, White Plains' role as a destination
retail location was only enhanced. Among some of these early stores were such
storied names as B. Altman & Co., Rogers Peet, Saks Fifth Avenue, Alexander's,
Macy's, Wallach's and a short-lived branch of Bergdorf Goodman, which was later
converted to sister chain, Neiman Marcus, in 1981.
During the late 1960s, the city of White Plains developed an extensive urban
renewal plan for residential, commercial and mixed-use redevelopment that
effectively called for the demolition of its entire central business district
from the Bronx River Parkway east to Mamaroneck Avenue. By 1978, the massive
urban renewal program centered around the construction of the Westchester County
Courthouse (1974), the Westchester One office building (1975), the Galleria at
White Plains mall (1978), and a number of other office towers, retail centers
and smaller commercial buildings. Within a generation, the original village-like
character of downtown White Plains was altered into becoming one of America's
first and most dynamic edge cities.
At the time of its construction, the Westchester One building was the largest
office building between New York City and Albany, and east to Hartford.
Beginning in the 1950s, many major corporations based in New York City relocated
all or part of their headquarters operations to White Plains and other nearby
locations. These included General Foods, PepsiCo, Hitachi USA, IBM, Nestle,
Snapple and Heineken USA. At the height of the 1980s at least 50 Fortune 500
corporations called Westchester County and nearby Fairfield County, CT home, but
with the corporate mergers and downsizing of the 1990s many of these companies
either reduced their operations in White Plains or left the area completely.
At the Arts Exchange Building, the headquarters of the Westchester Arts Council,
artists, emerging cultural organizations and new creative businesses are
developing and flourishing. Since March 1999, this vibrant community resource,
which is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, has served as
an artist's venue for exhibition and performance, a classroom, conference
center, film house, banquet hall and proud symbol of the revitalization of
downtown White Plains.
The construction of the Galleria at White Plains mall in the 1970s ushered in a
new era of downtown retail and office development, but by the early 1990s,
economic development had stagnated, hampered by a deep recession and the
overbuilding of the commercial real estate markets. For a time, White Plains had
the dubious distinction of having one of the highest office vacancy rates in the
Northeast. Consolidation within the retail industry led to the closing of many
of downtown's original department and specialty stores as well. After its
bankruptcy, the B. Altman store closed in 1989 and was eventually demolished to
make way for the massive upscale retail mall, The Westchester, which opened in
1995 with anchors Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus. A freestanding branch of Macy's,
one of downtown's original retail anchors, was relocated two blocks away to The
Galleria mall by its parent company, Federated Department Stores, replacing the
location of sister retailer, Abraham & Straus when these two store divisions
were merged in 1995. In early 2002, the Saks Fifth Avenue location was also
closed and demolished; it was replaced in 2004 with the large retail complex
called The Source at White Plains, featuring the high-end jewelery and home
goods store Fortunoff's, and local outlets of the upscale restaurants Morton's
of Chicago, The Cheescake Factory, and the gourmet supermarket chain Whole Foods
Markets.
Other major projects were completed in the late 1990s and early 2000s that have
dramatically altered further the urban character of downtown White Plains. A new
courthouse for the Southern District of New York was opened in 1998 and several
large scale office properties in and near downtown, including the former General
Foods headquarters building, were retrofitted and leased to accommodate smaller
businesses. The landmark Macy's store on Main Street remained vacant for several
years until it was also later demolished to make way for the massive City Center
White Plains complex. This large mixed-use development features two 35-story
apartment and condominium towers, 600,000-square-foot (60,000 mē) of retail,
restaurant and entertainment space and new parking facilities. Aside from the
Arts Exchange building (which used to be a bank), another bank next to the City
Center was renovated to become Zanaro's, a Westchester-award-winning Italian
restaurant. City Center's opening in 2003 marked the beginning of a new downtown
development renaissance, and with the improving economy and healthy office
leasing activity, White Plains entered the new millennium as the leading retail
and office center in Westchester County.
White Plains is widely known throughout Westchester County for its bar scene.
Mamaroneck Avenue and East Post Road are home to several highly trafficked
watering holes, including The Black Bear Saloon, Lazy Boy Tavern, and the
Thirsty Turtle.
In 2005, construction began on a second large parcel in the downtown area. The
project, dubbed Renaissance Square, will feature two residential and hotel
towers, each 40 stories tall, featuring a luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel and more
than 400 condominium units. The expected opening date of the first tower is
early 2008, at which time White Plains will once again boast the highest
building between both New York City and Albany. (This title is currently held by
the under-construction 39-story Trump Plaza in nearby New Rochelle, which in
2006 surpassed White Plains' 35-story Trump Tower, which was completed in 2005.)
Beginning in 2000, the city's permanent population experienced a growth spurt as
additional apartment buildings were constructed. An infusion of urban
professionals, drawn by the city's relatively moderate housing costs and close
commuting distance to midtown Manhattan (35 minutes by express train) gave the
city a cosmopolitan atmosphere. However, in large part because of its proximity
to New York, the cost of living in White Plains, although lower than that of New
York City itself, is by some measures among the highest in the world.
Education
Colleges and universities with locations in White Plains
* Pace University, formerly the College of White Plains, and its Law School
* Mercy College
* The College of Westchester, formerly known as the Westchester Business
Institute
Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 53,077 people, 20,921 households, and
12,699 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,091.1/kmē
(5,415.5/sq mi). There were 21,576 housing units at an average density of
850.1/kmē (2,201.4/sq mi). The racial makeup of the city was 64.93% White,
15.91% African American, 4.50% Asian, 0.34% Native American, 0.07% Pacific
Islander, 10.37% from other races, and 3.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 23.51% of the population. There were 20,921 households
out of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.7% were
married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband
present, and 39.3% were non-families. 33.4% of all households were made up of
individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the city the population was spread out with 21.2% under the age of 18, 7.5%
from 18 to 24, 32.5% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65
years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there
were 89.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $58,545, and the median income
for a family was $71,891. Males had a median income of $47,742 versus $36,917
for females. The per capita income for the city was $33,825. About 6.5% of
families and 9.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.2%
of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.
Transportation
Westchester County Airport serves the city.
Two Metro-North Railroad stations serve the city; the North White Plains
(Metro-North station) and the White Plains (Metro-North station). One is
stationed in North White Plains and the other next to downtown White Plains.
Interstate Highway 287 passes through White Plains. Extensive highway workings
are being done such as; building pedestrian walkways over the highway, an extra
lane on either side and adding on/off ramps which will help traffic flow and
make it easier for pedestrians. The vegetation removals have disrupted some of
the community and it is reported that the area will be fixed and trees will be
replanted when work on the highway comes to an end.