Pelton Mansion
POUGHKEEPSIE – A development project for a parcel commonly known as Wheaton Park is expected to come under lengthy scrutiny in Poughkeepsie.
Officially billed as the “36 North Clover Street Development Project,” it specifically refers to the structure on the property, known as the Pelton Mansion.
Corporation Counsel Paul Ackerman said options are wide open and could include its last active use, as the Poughkeepsie Day Nursery, which closed last fall, or any other viable option.
After the nursery moved out, the city issued a Request for Proposals.
“We received zero responses for a lease from a not-for-profit organization similar to the Poughkeepsie Day Nursery,” Ackerman said. “We received two responses from interested parties interested in developing in various manners the Pelton Mansion.”
Ackerman said there are arguments against considering the mansion as integral to the surrounding Wheaton Park, including the longtime use of the mansion as the Poughkeepsie Day Nursery.
“There is the potential to swap acre-for-acre additional parkland, which can be discussed by this council, after the public hearing. There’s a potential that has been discussed with the council of doing a dollar-for-dollar park swap, which would require the value of that property to be invested in other parkland.”
A critical condition for any developer would be to preserve the integrity of the structure.
The Common Council voted to open a public hearing on April 6. The hearing expected to take more than one session.
