PLEASANT VALLEY – Former Dutchess County Legislator and longtime Pleasant Valley resident Suzanne Horn is speaking out about a potential new development that she claims will alter the rural landscape on the northside of Wigsten Road. The Pleasant Valley Town Board will address the issue at its January 23rd meeting when the members will vote on whether or not to accept the developer’s request to rezone Highline Farm and the Tooker Homestead, both on Wigsten Road.
According to Horn, the developer “envisions a replica of Eastdale, the urban complex on Route 44 in the Town of Poughkeepsie.” Eastdale began development in 2018. It is a 35-acre contained community that includes more than 400 residential apartments and townhomes, accompanied by restaurants, medical, retail, and office space. When officials gathered for the Eastdale groundbreaking in August of 2018, Poughkeepsie Town Supervisor Jay Baisley lauded the plan. He said the project was going to bring an influx of tax revenue to Poughkeepsie. “The assessed land value will grow from an estimated $2.8 million to $40.2 million of which almost $30 million comes from residential while $11 million would be in non-residential taxes.”
Presently, apartment buildings are prohibited outside of Pleasant Valley’s hamlet residential districts.
The applicant envisions a multi-family buildout provided they receive the approval for rezoning. The applicant, according to Horn, is 71 Wigsten Road LLC., and they own two of the parcels in the discussion. An affiliate, Pleasant Valley Properties, owned by Joe Kirchoff, a principal in Eastdale Village owns the third parcel to be voted on. The three parcels account for 41 acres on Wigsten Road.
The three parcels total 41 acres, zoned medium-density residential. Brookside Meadows is also owned by an affiliated company. The applicants hope to extend community water and sewer from its plant located at the Meadows development on West Road, owned by an affiliate company of the developers.
