News

Rosendale considers affordable housing proposals

Published: Sunday, July 11, 2010

By WILLIAM J. KEMBLE
Correspondent

ROSENDALE — The Town Board this week will review two proposals for affordable housing on town-owned property on Creek Locks Road.

The board will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Rosendale Community Center on state Route 32.

The town took ownership of the property in December 2005 from the Regan Development Corp., which had planned an 80-unit housing complex called Creek Lock Commons. But with construction only 40 percent complete, the development company abandoned the site 23 years ago. In 2007, the town had four buildings on the 11.96-acre site dismantled, leaving only concrete slabs.

Under consideration now is a proposal by the Rural Ulster Preservation Co. to pay $512,000 for a section of the property, where it would build 64 housing units. Under the proposal, six units would be set aside for first-time homebuyers, 34 for low-income senior citizens and 20 for working families.

RUPCO also proposes to pay for a study of upgrading the town’s nearby wastewater treatment plant. The company says rents from the new units would pay for improvements.

“The RUPCO proposal ... will generate approximately $998,000 in water rents and sewer fees by year 15,” the company said. “These new revenues will assist the town defray costs to the districts of new infrastructure investments, (including) any bonding required, and may even result in reduced rents and fees for other district users.”

RUPCO said town offices also could be built on the site, through either a joint venture that uses charges for the units to offset costs or through a direct sale of property with a separate development schedule.

“The town could negotiate a purchase price on a per-unit basis for the residential project,” the company said in its proposal.

The development company Birchez Associates — which has developed housing in Kingston, Esopus, Ulster and Saugerties —has proposed to construct 60 to 72 units in two phases on the Rosendale site while recommending that the 27,270-square-foot former Tillson Elementary School on Grist Mill Road be renovated for municipal offices.

“The (school) structure provides more than adequate square footage to accommodate the 14,000 square feet presently sought by the town,” company officials said. “This 8.4-acre site would afford ample additional space to allow future expansion of town services and amenities, include child/senior daycare, senior programming and adult education, all at this common location. This site would also provide ample parking, as well as sufficient land to allow additional development in the future.” Continued...

Birchez Associates said that under its proposal, a “majority (of housing units) would serve seniors, with the balance to serve working families.”

The company would contribute $55,000 toward upgrading the sewage treatment facility and finance the preparation of applications for grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

“The preparation and submission of the USDA grant application would cost approximately $25,000,” the company said. “It is Birchez’s understanding that necessary work to prepare and submit the NYSERDA application would cost approximately $20,000. Birchez proposes to pay for this cost. Should this grant be accepted, Birchez proposes that the $10,000 refund from NYSERDA be returned to Birchez.”