City also approves move for Farmers’ Market

The Beacon Planning Board on Tuesday (April 13) will begin its review of a proposal to construct a three-story building with retail space and 16 apartments on Henry Street, a block from Main Street.

The proposal, submitted by a development group called KML RE, includes redeveloping an auto repair shop at 5 Henry St. that abuts South Chestnut Street on one side and a row of homes on the other.

The building, constructed in 1945, was once used as part of the Fishkill Railway Car Barn, according to documents submitted to the board. 

In its place would be a 35-foot-tall building with set-back second and third floors. Along with the apartments, the plans call for 2,300 square feet of commercial space; 6,220 square feet of office or co-working space and 1,135 square feet of service space for the commercial office. 

The site is part of a “transitional” zone created by the City Council last year that buffers Main Street and surrounding residential areas.

Farmers’ Market

The City Council on Monday (April 5) approved moving the Beacon Farmers’ Market from Veterans Place to the Dutchess County/Department of Motor Vehicles parking lot at 223 Main St. The market opens for its outdoor season on May 2. 

A handful of residents called in to the council’s videoconferenced meeting to speak for or against the move. Rich Kaplan, who, along with his brother Harvey, owns Max’s on Main, said that brick-and-mortar businesses near the DMV lot could be hurt by vendors who aren’t regularly in Beacon.

“I don’t want to find out that you’re going to accommodate some temporary vendors who are here once a week for a four-month period,” Kaplan said. “I’d like to have some of the Main Street businesses accommodated. We’re here every day, every week, every month, all year.”

Sergei Krasikov, who is a member of the Common Ground Farm Farmers’ Market Committee, asked the council to approve the move, saying the additional space at the DMV site would “make the market a truly wholesome experience, not just a place you stop by to buy something and leave.”

City Administrator Chris White said the city would work with Main Street businesses to open up parking spaces on adjacent streets to make up for any lost in the DMV lot. 

“We will try to mitigate this,” White said. “We recognize there’s no perfect location on Main Street anymore. There’s going to be trade-offs wherever we put it.”

One longtime vendor who operates a food truck will be allowed to remain at the market but the city won’t approve any others that might compete with Main Street restaurants or shops, he added. 

“Many of the businesses that were nearby [the Veterans Place location] saw an uptick in foot traffic,” said Council Member Air Rhodes. “It’ll be a draw. It’ll be a benefit to the neighbors of the Farmers’ Market.”

The city is also discussing with the Dutchess County Transportation Council extending its weekend shuttle bus service to include Sundays to bring visitors from the Metro-North station to Main Street.

Street changes

The council set a public hearing for April 19 to hear feedback on several proposed parking and traffic regulations.

The proposals would:

  • Make Spring Street one way from East Street to Washington Avenue.
  • Prohibit left-hand turns from Goodrich Street onto Howland Avenue.
  • Add stop signs on Howland Avenue and Robinson Street.
  • Restrict parking on portions of Beacon Street, Goodrich Street and Russell Avenue.
  • Switch the no-parking designation from the north side to the south side of Conklin Street between Fishkill Avenue and Mead Avenue.
  • Establish two-hour parking on the north side of same stretch of Conklin.

Behind The Story

Type: News

News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.

Simms has covered Beacon for The Current since 2015. He studied journalism at Appalachian State University and has reported for newspapers in North Carolina and Maryland. Location: Beacon. Languages: English. Area of expertise: Beacon politics

2 replies on “Beacon to Consider More Apartments”

  1. The city wants to extend weekend shuttle bus service to include Sundays to bring visitors from the Metro-North station to Main Street. But it has done nothing for the businesses and city residents in Groveville on Fishkill Avenue coming into Bea-con. Why does the bus turn by Ron’s Ice Cream to go up to the mountain when there is only one business there? The bus service is free. The only reason it does not go past Ron’s is because it does not want the residents of Hedgewood, an assisted living facility, on the bus.

    This city administration, like the one before it, does not care that there are over 15 businesses and 1,000 taxpayers near Groveville. If you are not on the “golden mile” of Main Street, you don’t exist. Instead, let’s build more condos/apartments, with no parking, near Main Street.

  2. What needs to be done is to make a multi-level parking lot available in the downtown area, plus single-side parking on Main Street.

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