Would convert parking lot into housing complex
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has requested proposals to transform a commuter parking lot at the Beacon Metro-North station into a 300-unit housing complex.
The request was announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Nov. 1 as part of the governor’s effort to repurpose state-owned sites for housing. New York State also awarded rights this year to a Rochester company to build up to 1,300 housing units at the 80-acre former Downstate Correctional Facility just north of Beacon.
Proposals for the 4-acre Metro-North site must conform to Beacon zoning laws and be submitted to the MTA by Dec. 18. Agency representatives briefly joined the City Council’s meeting by Zoom on Monday (Nov. 4) but provided no new details. They will return later this month to answer questions from council members.
The idea is to convert the northern commuter lot into a “transit-oriented development” with a combination of residential, retail and/or office uses within a short walk of the train station. The 483-space lot sits across the tracks from Seeger Riverfront Park and is adjacent to a Metro-North employee lot. Parking lost to development will be replaced on the property, the MTA said.
In addition to addressing the statewide housing shortage, the agency said the project will foster connectivity between the waterfront and Main Street. Hochul said in a statement that it would be supported by a $500 million fund launched this year to build 15,000 homes on state-owned property. Once completed, the project would not just add housing but “uplift the local economy by attracting businesses” and creating a healthier community, she said.
Last summer, the MTA opened its first transit-oriented project, Avalon Harrison, at the Harrison Metro-North station in Westchester County.
In October 2007, the MTA asked developers to submit expressions of interest for projects on 18 acres adjacent to the Beacon train station. Proposals for as many as 600 apartments in buildings ranging from two to six stories, along with a double-deck parking garage, were put forward, leading to the formation of a citizen group, Beacon Deserves Better, that opposed the plans.
The city and the Beacon school district stood to gain significant tax revenue but the proposals were deeply unpopular, recalled Steve Gold, who was mayor from 2008 to 2011.
Residents feared that Main Street, which was still recovering from years of neglect when the Great Recession hit in December 2007, could not withstand competition from commercial development along the waterfront. Concerns about increased traffic, even with the potential widening of a stretch of Route 9D near Beekman Street, and the loss of Hudson River views also contributed to the backlash.
During a series of public forums, “99.9 percent of the comments were opposed to it,” Gold said. “I think there was one person who wasn’t.” By mid-2010, Gold said he told the MTA that the city would no longer consider proposals.
By 2017, when the City Council adopted an update to its 2007 comprehensive plan, the train station had been rezoned for “waterfront development,” which permits residential, marina, restaurant and retail uses. According to the plan, structures built as part of a transit-oriented development should keep the first story available for commercial uses, which should be pedestrian-oriented and “assist in building a walkable street and overall connection along Beekman Street to downtown Beacon.”
Retail uses should be “related to their unique location near the waterfront” and not unduly compete with shops on Main Street. Office uses are also encouraged. Development in the area would accommodate existing MTA commuter parking in an enclosed parking structure, the plan says.
Mayor Lee Kyriacou said this week that Beacon is primed for waterfront development. “We’ve done our work setting the zoning that we think is appropriate,” he said. “Fifteen years ago they were proposing stuff that had nothing to do with our zoning. We’re in a much better position now.”
While the state says it is seeking proposals considerably smaller than those floated in 2008, there is also much more development in the area now. The 246-unit Edgewater complex is under construction on a cliff overlooking the proposed site, while 62 apartments have been approved by the Planning Board at 16 West Main St. A 64-unit development at Beekman Street and Route 9D is under review.
In addition, The View, a condominium complex on Beekman, had not been built when the first transit-oriented development was pitched.
I oppose any development by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority because the agency and elected officials, including in the City of Beacon and from both parties, that supported development in the past were negligent when considering the traffic implications of creating more spaces for non-resident commuters.
With regard to the 2007 proposal, the notion that widening a stretch of Route 9D near Beekman Street would accommodate hundreds of additional commuters was foolish. At the time, the administration of Gov. George Pataki concluded that optimizing traffic signals would resolve congestion at the I-84 corridor.
Any proposal that does not reduce the number of spaces at the station and include reconstruction of the antiquated Route 9D/I-84 interchange to resolve westbound on-ramp congestion is a bad one for the neighborhood I have lived in for all my 56 years.
Beacon has done more than its fair share of accommodating regional transport infrastructure and has suffered enough from the policies of governors who have taken advantage of our community, used opaque budgeting and lawmaking tactics to overload our infrastructure and want nothing but more from us when we prosper.
Beacon has been overrun with development in the last 10 years. Adding more will not enhance our community in any way. We are not “primed” for waterfront development. We are, however, in deep need of thoughtful affordable housing, considered development and reasonable tax assessments. The TOD plan is deeply unpopular and fulfills none of the need. In short, this is a misguided attempt to solve a large problem by burdening a community already stretched thin by outside interests.
Daniel McElduff for mayor!
Who in their right mind thinks this is a good idea? [via Instagram]
Transit-oriented development like this is a great role for Beacon to play in addressing the statewide housing crisis. I can’t wait until that area is livelier instead of a dead zone and would love to see minimal parking and lots of retail. [via Instagram]
We find transit-oriented development extremely valuable and believe this would be a great thing for Beacon. We also strongly en-courage this development on the west side of the river in Newburgh on a new passenger rail line we are proposing on a portion of the CSX freight line.
DeFalco runs All Aboard Hudson Valley, which advocates better rail travel options in the Hudson Valley.
You can barely squeeze cars in the current lots during peak hours. These lots and the station flood during heavy rains. Snow removal and build up in the winter is a nightmare. Can New York State and the City Council please leave Beacon alone, for once? This city is too small for all the approved developments it has. [via Instagram]
I am all in favor of new affordable housing but the infrastructure issues need to be addressed. The state Department of Transportation and the city need to tackle Route 9D traffic and the city should not be responsible for the cost of sewer and water upgrades, especially when one of the proposed developments is in Fishkill. [via Instagram]
No, no, no! We need more parking at the station and truly affordable housing. Stop going after the money, City of Beacon. [via Instagram]
I am opposed to the development of the train station acreage. It would completely change the entire city of Beacon and the beautiful parks we have near the Hudson. This reminds me of Edgewater, New Jersey, where unscrupulous government officials turned it into a comedy show of apartments and businesses. You can no longer even see the Hudson River when you drive down River Road, not to mention the outrageous cost of real estate.
How about some development at the Garrison train station? It has a parking lot that could be built over, and there is land for affordable housing. New Hamburg has space, as well. [via Facebook]
Route 9D in Beacon is beyond ridiculous. The road needs to be four lanes from Stony Kill to Loopers Plaza. And our waste system is already overloaded.
Beacon should tread carefully with these massive projects. Everyone is selling off and developing acreage in Dutchess County. Do we want an overcrowded, generic city or to preserve what people love about this place: a city that has a deep connection to nature and its beauty?
The Fishkill Correctional site at least has land for a housing complex. We need affordable housing but packing as many people as possible into a city that’s 4-by-5 miles will not improve the quality of life. [via Facebook]
To anyone in Beacon who is against this work at the train station: We see and understand your concern. If, at the same time, you favor the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail in Cold Spring or have made comments that demean or diminish the concerns that residents of Philipstown have about the public/private development of the Fjord Trail and its Dockside Connector, take a long look in the mirror and know that your neighbors in Philipstown are still here for you. We share your concerns about your homes, jobs, commutes and the continued quality of life of your families in the face of expansive and outsized development run amok. [via Facebook]
The Beacon train station is a terrible place to build dense housing. The roads are bottlenecked, and the last thing we need is more leading to the riverfront park. There are plenty of areas to build this housing that have larger roads and more space. [via Facebook]
A transit-oriented development plan was floated years ago and universally panned. Plus, there isn’t a housing crisis — there is an affordable housing crisis. Nowhere does this type of project lead with affordable housing; it is always an afterthought. [via Instagram]