Financial info sought on house renovation
The city Zoning Board of Appeals wants more information regarding the expenses that went into renovating a West Chestnut Street boarding house that is now applying for variances to operate as a boutique hotel.
At a meeting Thursday, board Chairman Tony Arqulewicz said the renovation cost information is needed for the board to determine a “baseline” in considering the application. He said the costs could include “sweat equity” that principal owner Joseph Sangi and others put into renovating for the property at 106 W. Chestnut St.
The baseline cost would be used in considering any financial hardships Sangi would face if the use and area variances were not granted. He was asked to provide documentation of the expenses before discussion of the application continues at a future zoning board meeting.
Much of the discussion at Thursday’s meeting focused on what “uses by right” the property could be put to under the city zoning code. The board determined the only one that applied was for the property to be used as a single-family residence. Other uses by right included the possibility of a cemetery or house of worship, but other restrictions in the zoning code precluded those uses.
Arqulewicz said that according to information provided by Sangi, the property was purchased for $55,000, and $145,000 was put into renovating it. He said Sangi estimates it would cost another $226,500 to turn the property back into a singlefamily residence. Arqulewicz said that means Sangi would have to sell the property for at least $426,500 just to break even. Breaking even is not his definition of a reasonable return on the investment, he added.
Additionally, Arqulewicz said he looked at neighboring homes to establish comparable sale prices and discovered that the ones on either side were approximately $330,000 and $270,000, but both were smaller in size.
Board member Brian Cafferty said the group had to establish a cost basis and then take a hard look at the numbers to realistically convert the property back into a single-family residence.
“This is the exercise that the criteria for a variance requires us to go through,” Cafferty said.
A use variance, if granted, would allow the facility to operate as a boutique hotel, while an area variance would waive part of a parking requirement for the business.
The boarding house itself was previously deemed illegal by a state appellate court. A separate federal lawsuit claiming violations under the Fair Housing Act was later filed against the city, but that lawsuit has been put on hold while the parties try to reach an agreement through the variance procedure.
Attorney Lanny Walter, who is representing Sangi, has said the proposal is to convert the three-story home into a boutique hotel operation that could house 35 people. He has said the people would be housed two or three to a bedroom. Through the boutique hotel designation, the facility would be able to receive remuneration for referrals, most of which come from the Ulster County Department of Social Services, he said.
Sangi is the principal of property owner Tri-Serendipity LLC and is manager of the boarding house.