Development Team Member from Birchez Associates, LLC, Nadine Feiden Shadlock, Esq. presents the maps of the proposed complex. Photo by Rochelle Riservato
Shawangunk Journal, July 15, 2010 by Rochelle Riservato
ROSENDALE – On July 13, a special Rosendale Town Board meeting was held in order for the town board, and the public, to hear several presentations in response to a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Creek Locks Road Property Development, one of which suggests using the Tillson School as the site for a new Rosendale Town Hall.
The firms that submitted Requests for Proposals were Birchez Associates, LLC, and Rural Ulster Preservation Company (RUPCO).
The first development presentation was presented by Birchez development team. Their “out-of-the-box” approach to the design included the suggestion to utilize the long abandoned Tillson School for the municipal complex, and the Creek Locks Road property, 1.8 miles away from the school, for the intergenerational housing, recreational area and creek access.
The Birchez development team attorney, Feiden Shadlock, said the Tillson School, with its 27,240-square feet, more than provided enough space for the board’s 14,000-square foot request for a new Town Hall.
She explained the space overage could provide storage, a conference and lunch room, and many amenities along with opportunities for future rentals of office space to professionals or service providers. In addition, the 8.4 acres of surrounding land could provide many future options for the town.
Describing the school as a “magnificent, masonry structure” Shadlock, stated that the building had other major pluses. She cited it was historic, structurally sound and would last far longer than a newly built wood structure whose life span typically is only 50 years.
Addressing the board she said, “If you’re serious about sustainability — the ultimate act is to recycle an old building,” while stressing that, in the long run, renovation would cost less than a newly-built structure.
Steve Aaron, founder of Birchez, said, “I have spoken to the school district — they want to get it [school] off their books.”
Renovation of an old structure opens up opportunities for municipal monies from agencies such as Ulster County Development Corporation (UCDC) according to Feiden Shadlock.
“The best part,” she said, “is that we anticipate anywhere between eight and twelve months for you to be in an energy-efficient, solar-paneled Town Hall.”
The Birchez proposal also included the Creek Locks property to include 72 intergenerational housing unit rentals; 40 units with elevators for seniors 55 years and older with onsite support services; 32 family unit rentals; and a suggested option of reserving some of these family units for future home ownership conversion for first-time home-owners and empty-nesters.
The site plan also included the preservation of a park-like, meadow area and walking and nature trails in the footprint where the Town Hall would have been.
However, Birchez provided an alternate site plan that does include a Town Hall in the event the Town Board and residents decide the facilities should be on one property. The all-inclusive design also eliminated the housing that could eventually be privately owned.
With the all-inclusive site plan, Feiden Shadlock said, “The sad part is that you are losing the opportunity for home ownership.”
At the presentation’s conclusion, Aaron said he could now reveal that the recently opened Birches at Chambers had funding from Warren Buffet.
The next proposal was presented by the not-for-profit agency Rural Ulster Preservation Company (RUPCO). This team used a power-point presentation manned by Guy Kemp, Director of Community Development, with RUPCO Executive Director Kevin O’Connor and Kemp explaining each of the slides.
O’Connor explained that during his past eight years with RUPCO, he has helped 1,360 families in Ulster County. He stated, “We work with communities and have obtained $12.7 million in grants and loans to support green, affordable housing in rural America.”
RUPCO presented drawings of two site plans. The “Engineer’s Potential Site Plan” illustrated a Creek Locks property development consisting of 50 to 60 housing units, including both apartments and townhouses, a Town Hall, and park areas.
The RUPCO Sketch Plan visualized 38 senior rental units, 20 family workforce housing units, 6 home ownership units, a 10,000-square foot, two-story Town Hall with a 5,000-square foot footprint and parklands.
In a later phone interview, Kemp stated that the reason the sketch plan depicted a 10,000-square foot structure was that, “The RFP was first issued [to RUPCO] several years ago without specific space needs provided by the town, so the site plan sketch shown was done prior to any knowledge that the town desired a 14,000-square foot structure.” However, he said the Town Hall could be built as a two-story, 14,000-square foot building with a 7,000 square foot footprint, which would include a subterranean basement.
At the meeting’s conclusion it was obvious the two proposals had many differences, which will result in much input and many questions to each of the firms competing for the project from, not only the Town Board, but from the public in future meetings.