Brickyards presents expanded plan
Site plan changes include more cabins, parking, trail
Planned improvements at the Hutton Brickyards property would enhance the hospitality component of a luxury camping project being undertaken there as part of a larger plan to more fully develop the site, a representative of the property owner said.
“Basically, the improvements are to enhance the hospitality component of the job, namely the cabins, and make...the experience better,” Kevin McManus, a representative for North Street Brick Works, told the city Planning Board during an online meeting Monday. He said the property owners had amended a site plan that was previously approved by the Planning Board. They had also entered into an agreement with Salt Hotels to manage all the operations of the luxury camping project, McManus said.
McManus said representatives of Salt Hotels were the ones who made recommendations on how best to proceed with the project. He said the amended site plan being considered by the Planning Board reflects some of the modifications needed to achieve those goals.
The Planning Board made no rulings on the application but did vote unanimously to reaffirm its status as the lead agency in the environmental review of the project. The board also agreed to continue to accept public comment on the application through its next meeting beginning at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 19.
Written comments can be emailed to scahill@kingston-ny.gov.
Among the three written comments received so far was opposition to the expansion of the project.
Marcia Zwilling said she
felt the originally approved 24 luxury cabins were adequate and the request for additional ones “only shows greed by Salt Hotels/the developers.” She said she understands the need for development but there are plenty of hotels and Airbnbs in the Hudson Valley. What the area needs is full-time housing, not more luxury hotels, Zwilling said.
“Aside from the fact that this sort of development provides no discernable advantages to the community near this project or Kingston taxpayers as a whole, this project threatens the air qual
ity of our city in ways that are not considered in the proposal,” M. Elias Dueker said. He said increased wood burning, both in stoves and firepits, are well-documented degraders of air quality.
McManus said among the amendments being proposed is the creation of a parking area at the end of Lindsley Avenue and a trail following an old roadway connecting it to North Street.
“The objective here is to enable the folks that are coming as patrons for the cabins to have a nicer approach to the property,” McManus said. “Park their car, be received up at this parking lot, and then receive a ride down through the woods.” He said the patrons would be dropped off at their cabins using small utility terrain vehicles or golf carts, “very resort-like.”
McManus said the amendment also includes the addition of three new cabins on the west side of North Street, for a total of 10 there. He said the developers are also proposing a 200-square-foot housekeeping building in the general vicinity of the cabins already approved and the change to the layout of one of the cabins to make it handicapped accessible. A pavilion on the property is also proposed to be used as a lounge and eating area for guests, with food being delivered from the kitchen at 188 North St., McManus said.
Additionally, there is a proposal for some moveable saunas and some im
provements to a parking lot, among other changes, McManus said.
“As you can see, these are all, kind of, enhancements to the operations of the facility,” McManus said. He added that the project is part of the larger future development of the Hutton Brickyards site along the Hudson River.
McManus said the developers are working on engineering information the board would need for its review, but had submitted a conceptual master plan of what the property would look like when fully developed. He said that future development includes additional cabins, a restaurant that would be open yearround, a hotel, and approximately 40 units of residential housing.