Peekskill Real Estate

With New York City and Long Island Sound to the south, Putnam County on the north and Connecticut to the east, Westchester County holds the distinction of being the world’s first large-scale suburb. Major interstate highways constructed during the 1950s and ‘60s and the construction of the Tappan Zee Bridge encouraged major corporations to build their headquarters here. A sweet spot for commuters traveling by car or by the Metro-North Commuter Railroad, today’s Westchester is one of the nation’s most affluent counties and the location of many of New York City's most desirable suburban communities.

Located about 50 miles north of New York City, Peekskill, NY is bordered by the town of Cortlandt and the Hudson River. On the popular 1980s sitcom The Facts of Life, Peekskill was the location of the fictional Eastland School for Girls and Langley College.

A trading post in its earlier years, Peekskill spent decades weathering an economic slump caused by the demise of the manufacturing industry that was its livelihood through most of the 20th century. To encourage growth in its downtown district, the town took an active role in pursuing artists overwhelmed by costs in New York City in the 1990s, advertising in the city’s art magazines and offering low interest rates, which helped artists buy buildings and convert them into useful spaces. In 2002, the city of Peekskill and the county of Westchester joined with a private real estate company to development the Peekskill Art Lofts. This 28-unit co-op offered artists the possibility of affordable home ownership.

Since that effort, this city overlooking the Hudson River has experienced an impressive organic regrowth as an artists’ haven and a magnet for newer high-tech companies. Historic districts filled with Victorian homes have been renovated. The city’s downtown has become a cultural center with the development of the Peekskill Art Lofts, the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, the Peekskill Coffee House and the Paramount Center for the Arts in a restored 1930s movie palace which serves as a cultural hub offering music, live performance and independent film. Surrounded by nature, Peekskill contains no fewer than 11 parks offering swimming, tennis, hiking trails and playgrounds for lovers of the outdoor life and their families.