Developer abandons ‘Supergarage’ name
A public meeting about Robert Iannucci’s Downtown plan is to be held the evening of Dec. 13.
KINGSTON, N.Y. >> “Supergarage” is no more. At least in name.
Developer Robert Iannucci, who owns a large swath of property at the Rondout Creek waterfront in Kingston, has scuttled the name he initially gave to his planned multiuse project at 181-207 East Strand.
“We are scrapping the ‘Supergarage’ name,” Iannucci said in a press release. “The reason is simple: Nobody likes it!”
Iannucci said he is accepting suggestions for a new name at info@historickingstonwaterfront.com.
Iannucci also said a public meeting about his plans has been rescheduled from Dec. 6 to 6 p.m. Dec. 13 in Cornell Steamboat building on East Strand in Downtown Kingston.
Architect Paul Jankovitz told the Kingston Planning Board in November that the proposed project is to include 60 apartments, a hotel, an entertainment area, a 300-vehicle public and private parking garage, a museum, retail space, a rooftop swimming pool and possibly an ice skating rink. Jankovitz said, though, that the first phase of the project is to be a boat museum and restoration facility with which area colleges could be affiliated.
The portions of the project not related to boats need approval by the city Zoning Board of Appeals.
Iannucci started buying
up acres at the city waterfront 16 years ago. He now owns a large swath of land along the Rondout Creek, including the 18-acre Island Dock in the middle of the creek and the former Cornell Steamboat building, across from the city’s wastewater treatment plant on East Strand.
The press release from Iannucci said the project “will undergo multiple design refinements and will be built in incremental stages, as the need for housing — including affordable housing — public parking, commercial units and water-dependent uses ... gradually increase along East Strand.”
He also said the “look” of the project’s façade will be consistent with the historic character of the Kingston waterfront area.
Iannucci lives in the historic Fitch Bluestone Building on nearby Abeel Street, which was built in 1875.