Town moves forward with plan to consolidate offices

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Former Poughkeepsie Day School facility

TOWN OF POUGHKEEPSIE – The town board is moving forward with plans to consolidate the Poughkeepsie Town Hall, police department, justice court, and other town offices into one facility.  The council approved spending $8 million to purchase the Poughkeepsie Day School complex on Boardman Road for the consolidation plan.

 

“This is something that needs to be done.  It will be a tremendous benefit to the residents of the town,” Supervisor Jay Baisley told Mid-Hudson News.

 

The town is slated to pay a $250,000  refundable deposit to the day school while Mitchell Associates Architects perform a feasibility study to make sure the facility and the 35-acre parcel will accommodate all of the departments that the town wants to relocate.  The town has 145 days to complete the study.  Mitchell Associates works exclusively on public safety building design including fire stations, EMS facilities, and shared services buildings.

 

The day school campus has two separate buildings with a total of 75,000 square feet. The main building was renovated in 2008 with the addition of custom-built science laboratories.  In 2014 the school added two labs, a dance studio, and additional classroom space, according to its website.  It also contains a 300-seat theater, named after Dutchess County resident James Earl Jones. It also has a regulation-size gymnasium, an art room, and two music rooms, one with a recording studio.

 

The campus also has a four-story Mediterranean-style mansion, Kenyon House, built in 1913.  It once served as the retirement home of industrialist Clarence Kenyon. Adjacent to both buildings are athletic fields and various playground areas.

 

If the study shows that it will work, the move is not likely to happen for two to three years.  Baisley said the day school is the geographic center of the town and has many features that are beneficial including solar panels and a cell tower on the property.

 

The existing town hall would likely be sold, as would the current police station and court facility on Tucker Drive.  Sources have told Mid-Hudson News that a few people have already expressed an interest in purchasing the Tucker Drive facility with plans to use it as a warehouse.




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