Yorktown Planners Approve Reuse of Empty Bank

06/16/20 - The Yorktown Planning Board has approved the renovation of an empty bank in the heart of Yorktown Heights.

The Ohio-based owner of 1961 Commerce Street submitted an application to the Planning Board to convert a former M&T Bank into a home improvement showroom for CST Kitchens & Baths, which is relocating from its current location in the Roma Building at 2020 Saw Mill River Road. Town officials expect to issue a building permit for the project in the coming days.

Construction is expected to take six to nine months. Besides an interior renovation, the project includes sidewalk replacement, landscaping and improvements to drainage.

“This project demonstrates a business owner’s commitment to our community and confidence in our local economy’s future,” said Supervisor Matt Slater. “This bank building has been empty for about three years and there are other properties that have been empty for even longer. We are working relentlessly on finding solutions to the unsightly vacancies in our community.”

Yorktown’s effort to resolve longtime retail and office vacancies includes the on-going reconsideration of zoning rules in about 10 business corridors that would allow for an expanded variety of building uses.