Panel backs Uptown property transfer
KINGSTON, N.Y. » An Uptown property currently used for municipal parking appears likely to be transferred to the Kingston Local Development Corp. and then on to the developers of the proposed mixed-use development known as The Kingstonian.
During an online meeting Monday, the Kingston Common Council’s Finance and Audit Committee endorsed a resolution authorizing the city to transfer the property at 21 North
Front St. to the local development corporation.
Voting in favor of the transfer were council Majority Leader Reynolds ScottChildress, D-Ward 3, and Don Tallerman, D-Ward 5, Tony Davis, D-Ward 6, and Michele Hirsch, D-Ward 9. Alderman Steven Schabot, D-Ward 8, recused himself because he works for Herzog’s home center. Herzog Supply Co. and Kingstonian Development LLC are the developers that have proposed building The Kingstonian.
The resolution to transfer the property was to be voted on by the full council Tuesday evening.
Estimated to cost $58 million, The Kingstonian would straddle Fair Street Extension between North Front Street and Schwenk Drive and would comprise 143 residential units, including 14 considered “affordable”; 8,900 square feet of commercial space; a 32room boutique hotel; and a 420-space parking garage, with 277 spaces available to the public, according to the developers. Part of the project would be built on the property at 21 North Front St.
“I just want to state that I do believe that the parking lot, as it is now, has always been part of the RFQ (request for quotes) that is part of the project, and that the parking lot, as it is now, is a burden on the city as it is less parking than what used to be there when there was a parking garage,” Hirsch said during Monday’s committee meeting. She also said it is a burden on the city to maintain the lot as it is and having additional parking spaces as part of The Kingstonian would benefit the community.
Hirsch noted there has been some talk about now not being a great time to develop market-rate housing. She said, though, that Ulster County recently issued a report that shows the area has a low number of housing units and that is driving up costs.
“If we increase our number of units, we will be actually helping our housing situation here in the city of Kingston,” Hirsch said.
Tallerman said there have been great points made both for and against the transfer of the property. He said his vote was based on what he thought would benefit the city in the long term.
Scott-Childress, who chairs the finance committee, said there were numerous documents that helped inform the committee’s decision on the matter. He said that includes the original request for the redevelopment of the parking lot property, as well as the city Planning Board’s decision that The Kingstonian would not have a significant environmental impact.