Kingstonian (archtect rendering)
KINGSTON – The public got a sneak peek at a large project slated for Uptown Kingston, involving a hotel, apartments, retail space, a new parking garage, plus a public atrium and park. Dubbed The Kingstonian, the development will bring $52 million to revitalize the neighborhood.
Mayor Steven Noble said the city has “attracted the right firm and the right talent, to be able to marry the public and private interest, is happening right here, right now, in the Stockade District.” Noble added that the project is also supported with several million in state grant money, part of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative.
“No matter what development happens here in the Stockade District is that it is one that meets the needs of this community, but also one that reflects the nature of our community in both its architecture, its feel, as well as being a welcoming and inviting place for everyone to visit when they come to our beautiful city,” he said.
The Kingstonian development will be sited on a 2.5-acre parcel of under-utilized land on the corner of Fair and North Front streets, JM Development Group’s Joseph Bonura Jr. told an audience during an informational meeting to the community Tuesday.
Kingston had been seeking a developer for the site since at least 2008.
The development will include 8,000 square feet of commercial space that will become a mix of up to two restaurants, small retail shops and, perhaps, a bank tenant along North Front Street and the new pedestrian plaza. It will include 129 market-rate residential rental units.
The original Kingstonian Hotel building, which is now a Herzog Supply warehouse, will be reconstructed as a new 32-room boutique hotel to maintain the historic character of the site.
Also included are a pedestrian walkway leading back to Kingston Plaza shopping mall; a public park with enclosed atrium, and 420 underground parking spaces.
Soil problems resulted in a previous parking garage at the same site to be demolished years ago. Bonura described the subsurface dirt as toothpaste, soft and moveable at a depth of 40 feet down, indicating there needs to be structural footings for any large structure to stand the test of time.
The firm JM Development Group comes with a solid history of building and maintaining parking garages on schedule, including the Water Club in Poughkeepsie. They also own the Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel as well as the Grandview and Shadows Restaurant on the Hudson River waterfront.
