AWARD WINNING EDITORIAL
INCLUDING THE HUDSON VALLEY FEBRUARY 28, 2022 VOL. 58, No. 9
westfaironline.com
Ridgefield's Petworks creates digital marketplace for pet parents
900 King St., Rye Brook, rendering of entrance area by Perkins Eastman.
BY PHIL HALL Phall@westfairinc.com
R
oughly five years ago, Michael Caldwell noticed a wave of digital marketplaces covering a variety of sectors — but one area where he could not locate a marketplace involved vendor services for pet care. “What I saw was an opportunity to create a marketplace for pet services outside of what was already being addressed,” he recalled. “When I look back in 2017, there was a couple apps that helped you find a dog walker or pet sitter, but I started to see more and more categories of pet services that were that people were hiring for. “This was part of the trend of the humanization of pets, with people caring for their pets more and more like children,” he added.
“They were looking for different types of pet care services, but it was all over the place — there wasn't a nice one-stop shop that you could find them all in one place online.” Caldwell was no stranger to the online marketplace environment — back in 1997, he teamed with Kevin Kinyon to launch GigMasters, a Norwalkheadquartered resource that connected entertainers with party planners and organizers of corporate and public events. Caldwell and Kinyon sold GigMasters in 2015 to XO Group, which later merged with the wedding planner resource The Knot. Caldwell and Kinyon launched their pet-focused endeavor, Petworks, in Ridgefield in 2019. Petworks covered the country with services listed » RIDGEFIELD'S PETWORKS
6
GROUNDBREAKING EXPECTED FOR RYE BROOK SENIOR PROJECT BY PETER KATZ Pkatz@westfairinc.com
T
he developer of a senior living facility at 900 King St. in Rye Brook hopes to be able to conclude a five-year approval process and break ground this summer, a source involved in the project has told the Business Journal. The applicant for the project is Rye King Associates LLC, which has an address at the Manhattan offices of real estate company George
Comfort & Sons Inc. The Rye Brook Board of Trustees has approved the site plan for the project. The approval resolution includes 17 pages of conditions that must be met by the developer at various stages of the project. Those stages include prior to the issuance of a demolition permit so that an existing building can be taken down, prior to the issuance of a building permit so that new construction can begin, and prior to the issuance of any certificate of occupancy.
The approval process began in June 2017 when the applicant submitted a zoning petition to the Board of Trustees. A full environmental review was completed, comments from neighbors and other interested parties were addressed and design changes were introduced. The senior living facility is to include: a 126-unit three- and four-story Independent Living (IL) facility in the center of the site; an 85-unit three- and four-story » SENIOR PROJECT
Evan R. Corsello
Frank J. Gaudio President & CEO
203.302.4375
6
Chief Lending Officer
CALL US TODAY
203.302.4003
EXPERT LENDERS COMMERCIAL & RESIDENTIAL Port Chester – 914.908.5444 500 Westchester Avenue
NMLS # 510513
Cos Cob – 203.629.8400 444 E. Putnam Avenue
Stamford – 203.413.6101 900 Summer Street
Courtesy Pixabay.