Proposed arts center get 1-year extension
The owner of the Burger-Matthews House on Henry Street has received another extension of a special-use permit to create a multidisciplinary arts center there, a project that has been more than a decade in the making.
During a virtual meeting Monday, the Kingston Planning Board unanimously approved a oneyear special-use permit renewal for TRANSART Cultural Services after architect Alan Baer said work had been progressing until the COVID-19 pandemic paused the renovation and adaptive reuse project.
The renewal grants more time for the house at 105107 Henry St. to be converted into an arts center with gallery space, exhibition and educational space, and administrative offices.
Baer said after the project received a six-month special-use permit from the Planning Board in December, approvals were obtained from the city’s Historic Landmarks Preservation Commission and Building Department to proceed with renovation work. But no sooner were the approvals granted than work had to be halted because the project was considered nonessential under Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s executive order to temporarily close businesses and organizations due to the coronavirus.
“Because we were nonessential, we had to stop work,” Baer told the Planning Board. “And we’ve just resumed as of the last couple of weeks.”
Construction projects in the Mid-Hudson Region were allowed to resume on May 26.
Baer said his client initially planned to hold an opening in October but now says that questionable because of the COVID-19 situation. Still, Baer said, the goal remains that the building will be occupied this fall.
Planning Board Chairman Wayne Platte Jr. said he confirmed with the city planner that the TRANSART project had an active
building permit and members of the Building Department had been at the site performing inspections. He also said the work delay was understandable given the governor’s executive order.
The project at the 1873 Burger-Matthews House initially was approved by the board in 2008, and short-term permits were renewed until finally coming to an end in 2014. City officials five years ago noted they still needed information about funding and had not been given a property maintenance plan.
The extension in December was granted after Baer showed photographs of structural repairs that had been done.
The city seized the building on Dec. 30, 2000, for nonpayment of taxes, and it was purchased by William Johnnes for $1 on Oct. 24, 2003. Johnnes sold the property for $1 to Jennifer Schwartz-Berky on Oct. 28, 2005. City lawmakers in 2007 threatened to take back the property, but they changed their minds after a $4,295.95 overdue tax bill was paid. Berky then sold the property to TRANSART for $1 on June 11, 2008.