Easement sought to benefit senior housing project

Human services leaders on Tuesday urged Ulster County lawmakers to grant easements to the Ulster Savings Bank over the countyowned U&D Railroad corridor and lauded a company planning to build senior citizen housing on the property.

The bank has requested three easements to provide access to two parcels that now are landlocked.

Hudson Valley Housing Development Fund Co. has proposed the construction of 60 apartments for senior citizens behind the Best Western Plus hotel on Washington Avenue, on land owned by the bank. Access to the complex would be from Hurley Avenue.

The project has been before the city Planning Board since at least 2011.

County officials said the project, called Kingston Meadows, is contingent on the easements, which would provide access to the property.

Peg O’Leary, director of Hudson Valley Housing Development Fund Co., said one right-of-way would be used for drainage, one would be used for access, and a third, temporary easement would be used during construction.

“Ulster County has a shortage of affordable senior housing,” said Kathy Hochman, director of the Resource Center for Accessible Living. “It’s been years since Ulster County has added to its inventory.”

Michael Berg, executive director of Family of Woodstock, agreed, saying the county is in “desperate need” of affordable housing, including senior housing.

Speakers said the quality of the complexes built by Hudson Valley Housing is “amazing” and that the developer has a proven track record of maintaining its property.

Former county Legislator Peter Loughran, though, said the site is not suited for senior housing.

“There’s nothing there for them,” Loughran said. He said the property would be better suited for a warehouse or office space that “people can use and leave.” He also expressed concern about wetlands on the property and the potential that the apartments could be plagued by mold.

Ted Fink, a planning consultant working with Hudson Valley Housing, said even during flooding of the nearby Esopus Creek, “there were no waters up near where the building is proposed.”

Mark Greenblatt, the attorney for the U&D Railway Revitalization Corp., urged legislators to delay action until after the Surface Transportation Board has issued its decision about whether the county owns the railway corridor.

“I would hate for you to give something that you don’t own,” he said.

Deputy County Executive Ken Crannell said the county holds the deed to the portion of the corridor behind the Best Western hotel