Hearings will focus on 3 development plans
The public can weigh in Dec. 18 on Uptown hotel proposals and a Downtown residential/ commercial project.
KINGSTON, N.Y. » Boutique hotels in Uptown Kingston and a commercial/apartment building proposal for East Strand in the city’s Rondout district will be the subject of public hearings at this month’s meeting of the Kingston Planning Board.
The hearings are to start at 6 p.m. Dec. 18 in City Hall, 420 Broadway.
The Uptown hotel proposals that will be subject to hearings are to be at 24 John St. and 270 Fair St. Both are proposed by New York City developer Charles Blaichman, who also is creating already-approved boutique hotels at 301 Wall St. and 41 Pearl St., also in the Uptown area.
The proposal for 24 John St., a building ravaged by the British burning of Kingston in 1777, calls for the creation of eight hotel rooms.
Since its rebuilding after the fire, the building has undergone numerous expansions and renovations.
According to the group Friends of Historic Kingston, a directory from 1940 lists the property as belonging to Albert N. Cook, president of Decker Fowler Inc., an insurance company located at 44 Main St.
The history of 270 Fair St., where Blaichman plans to create 12 hotel rooms, dates to 1870s.
Jim Monahan, who is conducting historical research on the buildings, said the Fair Street building housed a Singer sewing machine store and repair shop from the 1940s through the late 1960s and that, more recently, it was occupied the Tom Reynolds and Pennington photo studio, as well as several law firms.
A public hearing also will be held Dec. 18 on a proposal at 65-85 East Strand.
The company Kingston Waterfront LLC is planning a mixed-use project at the site, which is near the Hudson River Maritime Museum.
The proposal calls for 18,480 square feet of residential space and 11,920 square feet for commercial use.