The Magellan has risen and is now 75% leased

October 3, 2024 at 12:44 a.m.

Ralph Rossi, CEO and founder of RMA Development, accompanied by his partner Andre Fernandes, speaks to the crowd gathered on The Magellan’s rooftop lounge for the grand opening celebration of the 108 S. Main St. building on Thursday, Sept. 26. (Courtesy photo of Nicholas Carter)

The Magellan, the 7-story building locals have watched rise at the corner of South Main Street and Boston Post Road and now wraps around that bend as a precursor structure torn down decades ago used to do, is complete. What’s more, the apartments within it are 75% leased.

At an elegant grand opening reception and ribbon cutting on the landscaped outdoor rooftop lounge on Thursday, Sept. 26, Ralph Rossi, CEO and founder of RMA Development, accompanied by his partner Andre Fernandes, welcomed the crowd of Port Chester officials, Chamber of Commerce members, building residents, attorneys, members of Rossi’s team and that of ASF Construction and others.

    Ralph Rossi (right, holding scissors) and Andre Fernandes (left) of RMA Development, which developed The Magellan, prepare to cut the ribbon to celebrate the grand opening of the luxury apartment building. They are accompanied by, from left, Port Chester Trustee John Allen, Port Chester IDA Chairman Frank Ferrara, Port Chester Trustee Juliana Alzate, Mayor Luis Marino, Trustee Phil Dorazio and Village Manager Stuart Rabin.
 Photo by Nicholas Carter   

The Magellan, Rossi said, had been completed in a record 18 months.

“We go above and beyond,” he kept repeating.

“We delayed the ribbon cutting so everyone could come up on the roof,” he said. That followed a partial opening in mid-June and another opening for the rest of the building in mid-July.

Since then, 72 of the 95 total apartments have been leased. “That means in two months we will be full,” said Rossi.

Continuing his theme of going above and beyond, Rossi said: “We went to Portugal to find the marble for the kitchen and bathroom countertops and installed them here in two months.”

“We built affordable apartments that are right sized,” he continued. “[The Magellan] was built under the old code (before Port Chester’s form-based zoning code was adopted in May 2020). We designed the apartments and built 18 below the county’s AMI threshold,” meaning affordable although that wasn’t required under the approval granted this development project.

“How?” he queried. “With the help of the Port Chester IDA (Industrial Development Agency),” which was well represented at the opening. The IDA gives tax breaks to new developments to make them work.

    Ralph Rossi, CEO and founder of RMA Development, accompanied by his partner Andre Fernandes, speaks to the crowd gathered on The Magellan’s rooftop lounge for the grand opening celebration of the 108 S. Main St. building on Thursday, Sept. 26.
 Nicholas Carter   

Food for last week’s reception was provided by Port Chester businesses such as Sergio’s Saw Pit, Rinconcito Salvadoreno, Neri’s Bakery and Steph’s Sweet Creations which whipped up cotton candy and other sweets including round treats with the Magellan logo on them to take home.

The deck overlooking South Main Street below features firepits, seating, grassy areas, a bar as well as grills and a pizza oven.

Tours of the building showed the good-sized gym on the ninth floor, a courtyard on the fourth floor with a small dog park featuring a dog wash and spacious one- and two-bedroom apartments with open floor plans and full-size washers and dryers. The women on the tour, all homeowners, were in full agreement that there was not enough closet space in either of the apartments viewed.

There are also workspaces although they were not part of the showing.

Because of the curved shape of the building, there are 19 different floor plans.

Depending on square feet, studios range in price from $2,370 to $2,400 per month. One-bedrooms rent for $2,700 to $3,500 a month, and two-bedrooms lease for $3,450 to $3,995.