Original Article

 

By Ariél Zangla azangla@freemanonline.com @arielatfreeman on Twitter

Jul 24, 2020

 

KINGSTON, N.Y. — A proposed payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement for The Kingstonian mixed-use development that could be built in Uptown was put together “in close association” with the city’s assessor and provides a structure for future taxes paid by the project, the Common Council’s majority leader said.

Majority Leader Reynolds Scott-Childress told the council’s special housing subcommittee during a virtual meeting on Thursday that aldermen would review the proposed payment-in-lieu-of-taxes, or PILOT, agreement during a special Finance and Audit Committee meeting next week. He said the developers of The Kingstonian would be on hand to answer questions during the virtual meeting, which is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 28.

Scott-Childress said the developers are asking for approximately $30 million over a 25-year period.

The expectation is the Finance and Audit Committee would take a vote on the proposed PILOT, sending the matter to the full council for consideration during its next monthly meeting scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 4. Whether the committee endorses the agreement or not, it will still go to the full council.

“This is a request that was developed in close association with Dan Baker, the city’s assessor,” Scott-Childress, D-Ward 3, said. “We’ve seen Dan Baker put together some wonderful PILOT agreements over the past couple of years now. It seems like he’s got a real talent for working out good approaches to these things.” He added that despite an article in the Freeman to the contrary, it seemed members of the Ulster County Industrial Development Agency were “generally favorable to the request” for the taxing agreement.

The Kingstonian is proposed to be built on two sites at the corner of Fair and North Front Streets, with each of the new buildings extending toward the Schwenk Drive side of the properties. Fair Street Extension would be closed to through traffic as part of the plan, which still is under consideration by the city Planning Board.

One of the properties is owned by the city and currently is used as a municipal parking lot.

The Kingstonian project is to consist of 143 apartments, of which 129 would be rented at market rates. In addition to the apartments, the project is to comprise 8,000 square feet of retail space, a 32-room boutique hotel, a pedestrian plaza, a footbridge crossing Schwenk Drive between the new development and Kingston Plaza, and a 420-space parking garage, of which 130 spots would be reserved for residents of The Kingstonian.

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