Project Details
Specific aspects of the Kingstonian project 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
- 143 residential units including 10% affordable Workforce housing
- A 32-room boutique hotel. The original Kingstonian Hotel building will be rebuilt to maintain historic character of the site
- A public-access, open-air pedestrian plaza at the Front Street level of the project
- 420-space parking structure with at least 250 spaces devoted to City parking
- Total of 2.5-acres of under-utilized land
- An ADA compliant walking bridge that extends to Kingston Plaza over Schwenk Drive.
Parking Benefts
As part of the project, a 420-space parking structure will be constructed including 250 spaces devoted to City parking.For more than a decade, the site of an old three-story parking garage at 21 North Front Street has remained vacant after it was demolished due to structural issues. The City of Kingston had issued Requests for Qualifications in 2008, 2013 and in 2016. The 2016 request required that any development at the site include at least 200 public parking spots to address the severe shortage of parking in the Uptown area.
Economic Benefts
This project will contribute to the revitalization of the City of Kingston by:
- Reducing poverty and unemployment rates by creating opportunities for skilled and non-skilled employment
- Creating desperately needed public parking to support community businesses
- Attracting both day and overnight visitors to Uptown
- The project will generate sales taxes that are projected to be $333,000 per year and distributed to The City of Kingston and Ulster County.
Job Creation
An estimated 153 new jobs will be created, including retail, hospitality, service and office-related businesses.An estimated 100 temporary construction jobs will be generated.
Project Funding
- Total Project: More than $52 million
- Private Funding: Over $46 million
- Downtown Reinvestment Initiative I Funding: $3.8 million
- Empire State Development Grant Funding: $2 million
- Restore New York Funding: $1 million