The Lombardi apartments spotlight their Italian heritage in downtown New Rochelle

The modern Lombardi residential apartments proudly wave the flag for the Italian city Guardia Lombardi, in Avellino, Italy. From the country that is well known for art, pizza, fashion, pasta, opera, Christopher Columbus, Maserati and more, now comes The Lombardi. This lavish New Rochelle structure saw its official opening in October of 2016. The Lombardi, developed and owned by Ralph Rossi of RMA Development LLC is a $20 million mixed-use complex at 11 Park Place, just minutes from buses and trains, making it conveniently located. There are 48- units, 2,550 s/f of retail space, eight one-bedroom units and forty two-bedroom units. The 65,000 s/f rental building, according to its principals, was "designed and built to offer its residents an Old World feeling, paying respect to the town where the developers grandfather, father and uncle came from." I asked owner/developer, Ralph Rossi of RMA Development LLC about all the sudden building happening in New Rochelle in the last several years. "There's a couple of reasons why; primarily attributed to the zoning changes in the city that were made in 2015. Those changes enable developers to bypass the New York State SEQR or State Environmental Quality Review Act and automatically build projects without a lengthy and costly review process", said Rossi. When asked if more retail will follow in the wake of all the development in town, Rossi commented, "Retail today is very different than it was fifty years ago. Yes, I think New Rochelle will see a resurgence in retail. I feel it will be more like pubs, restaurants, some shopping. People still want to go out and shop," said Rossi. I asked Rossi who The Lombardi is targeting. "We seem to have attracted young family's and empty nesters and more," said Rossi. As for the building itself and what makes it so special, Rossi concludes, "That we have mostly two-bedrooms and it's a very close knit, family style apartment building." 

A limited number of The Lombardi units are offered at lower costs to residents earning less than the area's medium income. The building showcases state-of-the-art technology and energy-efficiency with the addition of a cogeneration plant and high efficiency and variable refrigerant flow (VRF) heating and cooling systems. The cogeneration plant uses natural gas to produce onsite electricity while utilizing its waste heat to generate free hot water for building residents. Each apartment features the VRF heating and cooling system and allows residents to regulate the temperature and programming for each room. Apartment amenities include large gourmet kitchens featuring granite counter tops, custom cabinetry and stainless steel appliances, large bathrooms with hand crafted custom tile, in-unit large washer & dryer, high ceilings and over-sized windows. The Lombardi boasts a main lobby with old world craftsmanship, on-site fitness center, state-of-the-art security and virtual doorman service. New York City living without Manhattan costs! While New Rochelle is in the midst of phase two of its historic real estate makeover, The Lombardi, one of the first to go up, continues to celebrate its Italian legacy. 

Matthew O’Shaughnessy is a contributing author, New Rochelle, N.Y.