Wants only rental units for modest income seniors
In a dramatic shift from previous ideas for the former Butterfield Hospital, the Cold Spring Planning Board Tuesday (April 24) called for eliminating all the market-rate, upscale condominiums envisioned for the site and focusing on modest-income rental units for senior citizens, plus more “walkability,” or pedestrian-friendly accessibility.
The five Planning Board members met for about two-and-one-half hours to hash out what they preferred to see at Butterfield Hospital, with property owner Paul Guillaro, of Butterfield Realty LLC, and his team looking on, and, in the end, commenting. Meeting at the VFW hall, the board reviewed three different schematic proposals prepared by Ray Curran of GreenPlan Inc., the consulting firm hired to advise the village. Curran’s conceptual proposals were intended to reflect the village’s recently adopted Comprehensive Plan as well as community comment at the April 14 charrette or community design workshop. In the end, the Planning Board settled on a version with just 40 affordable senior housing units and no market-rate condos for retirement-age buyers. That concept sharply contrasts not only with Butterfield Realty’s plan, outlined last fall, of 90 units but with Curran’s design, which showed 75 total units. The various proposals all retained the Lahey Pavilion medical offices and added an intergovernmental municipal building to the site.
Asked for comments as the session ended, Guillaro observed that the current B4 zoning permits him to build 76 units at Butterfield and that elimination of all of the market-rate housing would make the project economically unviable for him. A follow up meeting is scheduled for May 8 at 7:30 p.m.
Photo by M.J.Armstrong
Who wrote this story? I did not see anyone from Philipstown.info there.