News

Kingston Planning Board delays action on Flatbush Avenue buildings

Published: Wednesday, March 14, 2012

By PAUL KIRBY
Freeman staff
pkirby@freemanonline.com; http://twitter.com/PaulatFreeman

KINGSTON, N.Y. — The city Planning Board has delayed making a decision on a proposal to turn two vacant Flatbush Avenue buildings into a manufacturing center.

City Planner Suzanne Cahill the board could not make a decision on Monday, as was expected, because the Ulster County Planning Board has not yet forwarded its recommendation to the city.

Cahill said the county board could not vote on recommendations because it did not have a quorum of members at its meeting last week. She said the city didn’t learn of that until Monday morning.

If Cahill’s office gets a recommendation from the county board this month, the city Planning Board will schedule a special meeting at which to act on the Flatbush plan.

The Flatbush Avenue site, occupied by Colony Liquor and Wine Distributors before the company moved to Greene County, is to become home to two manufacturers — Stavo Industries and Wolf-Tec Inc.

Cahill has said approval of the plans is likely, though with some conditions.

The plans call for the site to be divided into two parcels for two manufacturing operations and for $12 million in private financing to be dedicated to the project.

Empire State Development Corp. has offered Wolf-Tec a grant of $350,000 and Stavo a grant of $300,000 to maintain operations in New York state.

Stavo, which currently has operations elsewhere in Kingston, manufactures liquid-filtration equipment for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Wolf-Tec, currently in the town of Ulster, develops, manufactures and distributes automated industrial food-processing equipment. Both businesses sell products to a worldwide customer base.

Stavo has 47 employees and expects to add 14 after moving. Wolf-Tec employs 69 people and plans to add 27. Continued...