Mayor Noble is pleased to announce that he has successfully worked together with local developers to bring 14 new units of affordable housing into the Kingstonian project. The units will be a combination of studio and one-bedroom apartments, for varying income levels, ranging from 60% AMI to 110% AMI.

These units will be completely financed by the development team with no outside subsidies and will be documented in an agreement between the City and the Kingstonian Team. As a result of this collaborative effort, the overall size of the proposed Kingstonian will increase the total residential unit count to 143.

Since February of 2018, Mayor Noble has been working with the Kingstonian development team, NYS Housing and Community Renewal, and local nonprofit housing partners to exhaust all of the different avenues to bring affordable housing into the Kingstonian. Ultimately, based on the multi-use nature of the building with its parking, apartments, commercial and lodging, the Kingstonian development did not qualify for any of the traditional low-income housing tax credits or other subsidies managed by NYS Homes and Community Renewal.

“I am so pleased to have worked alongside Brad Jordan and Joe Bonura to bring affordable housing to the Kingstonian and appreciate their efforts to create a project that aligns with our community’s needs and my administration’s commitment to equitable economic development,” said Mayor Noble. “Our growing community needs all types of housing stock, and this project will now bring much-needed affordable housing units and so much value to our city. I would like to thank the leadership of the NYS Home and Community Renewal office, who have been a tremendous asset to these discussions and assisted the team throughout the process. A huge thank you to Governor Cuomo and his team for seeing the potential in Kingston and helping us revitalize the Uptown neighborhood.”

At this time, there is no citywide requirement for inclusion of 10% affordable housing in new construction over 6 units, however, Mayor Noble says, “This is a benchmark model I would like to see translated into other projects across the City to meet the intent of our Comprehensive Plan. I believe that it is an important and realistic goal and would firmly support this legislative item be taken up by the Common Council.”

“Even though it is not called for in the existing Zoning Law as stated by the Zoning Code Enforcement Officer, we have been listening to the concerns of the community and are addressing further needs of the City that were not identified in the original RFQ,” said project partner​ ​Joe Bonura. “It’s been our goal from the outset to deliver a project that everyone can be proud of, and we feel with these modifications we are one step closer to doing that.”

With regards to this project, we have been able to focus on seniors and also workforce housing which serves Kingston and the community as a whole.” said, Brad Jordan of Herzog Supply Co., Inc. “However, we recognize more needs to be done to create additional affordable housing and we remain committed to continuing to work with Mayor Noble and City officials to address the issue.”

The Kingstonian is a proposed mixed-use development project to be built in Uptown Kingston on the corner of Fair and North Front Streets. It will include retail and restaurant space, apartments and a hotel, as well as a 420-space parking garage, open-air plaza, and an ADA compliant pedestrian bridge that will connect to the Kingston Plaza over Schwenk Drive.

Updated renderings of the Kingstonian:
(Click to download high-resolution versions)

If you are in favor of the Kingstonian project, please express your written support to both the City of Kingston Common Council and the City Planning Department at the addresses below:

City Hall Planning Dept.
C/O Suzanne Cahill, Planning Director
420 Broadway
Kingston, NY 12401

Email: planning@kingston-ny.gov 
Phone: (845) 334-3955
Fax: (845) 334-3958

Click Here to Read Response (160 KB, PDF Download)

“The Kingstonian project will positively affect the community as a whole, inclusive of all working people. Nobody denies the concerns and issues brought forward; in fact, we agree that continued solutions are needed. However, The Kingstonian is a project that was derived from the City of Kingston in the form of a Request for Quotation (RFQ) to rebuild our much-needed public parking garage with no property or school tax increase to area residents. The solution to the City’s request is feasible and achievable as presented by The Kingstonian project. No project can solve every issue but this one will absolutely provide benefits for the entire community.

This project is not taking away existing housing; instead it is addressing important economic issues.  Most importantly, this garage and the residents and guests of this project will be critically important to existing small businesses success and survival in many cases.  These new consumers will become additional economic drivers for Kingston’s commercial tax base.

Kingston’s current housing demand outweighs the supply; thus, prices have risen. By adding more housing inventory, we will relieve that upward pressure. Home conversions to Airbnb’s are also driving up rents; the addition of hotel rooms will address that issue.  We are fully supportive of the needs of all residents of Kingston, including its immigrants. We and the other area businesses have exhibited that support over the years through numerous donations and tireless volunteer work with dozens of non-profit organizations aimed at improving the quality of life for all area residents. In order for all of us to continue this level of support we need to take the necessary steps to help our business districts thrive.

It is and has been our preference to meet in person with anyone who has concerns about the Kingstonian project, we are interested, and we care about all suggestions”, explained Joe Bonura and Brad Jordan.