Westchester buyer to pay $1.8 million for Mase station
Beacon officials have entered into a contract to sell the city’s decommissioned Mase Hook & Ladder fire station for $1.8 million.
The buyer, Michael Bensimon, signed an agreement on June 24 to acquire the property at 425 Main St., including the three-story brick firehouse that has stood there since 1911.
Bensimon, who lists a Port Chester, New York, address on the agreement, made a down payment of $180,000. According to the sale contract, which was provided to The Current, he has a 45-day due-diligence period during which the sale can be canceled and the down payment refunded. City Attorney Nick Ward-Willis said he expects the transaction to close by the end of August.
Bensimon and his attorney each declined to comment. Dutchess County records show that an LLC with the same Port Chester address owns 475 Main St. in Beacon, next to the Howland Cultural Center.
Although Dutchess records incorrectly combine three parcels — the Memorial Building at 423 Main St., Mase at 425 Main and the adjacent municipal parking lot — into one, Bensimon plans to purchase only the fire station property. It is in Beacon’s Central Main Street zoning district; Planning Board approval would be required to bring a commercial or residential use to the building.
The city will retain the parking lot, which it intends to restripe for a more efficient layout. Bensimon will receive three spaces. Verizon Wireless will retain its lease to place an antenna on the firehouse roof and equipment in a fenced area behind the building.
The site is also part of Beacon’s protected historic district, which means that substantial exterior changes to the building would require a “certificate of appropriateness” from the Planning Board.
According to the contract, Bensimon must apply for permits to begin interior renovation of the building within six months of closing, and obtain certificates of occupancy, compliance or other municipal approvals within 18 months.
Mase and the former Beacon Engine Co. firehouse at 57 East Main St. were listed by the city for sale in May. Both became surplus after a $14.7 million centralized fire station opened near City Hall last fall.
Accessory dwellings
Homeowners earning up to 120 percent of the Dutchess County median household income ($97,273) can apply beginning Monday (July 14) for grants of up to $125,000 to create or upgrade an accessory dwelling unit (ADU).
Beacon and nine other municipalities in Dutchess County were awarded $6 million earlier this year through a state program designed to help low- and moderate-income residents build ADUs. The program is being administered locally by Hudson River Housing, a Poughkeepsie nonprofit. See hudsonriverhousing.org.
The City Council on July 7 also adopted amendments meant to simplify regulations of accessory apartments. The law now permits ADUs in all zoning districts but only on lots with a single-family residence. One of the structures must be owner-occupied, and the ADU cannot be used for short-term rentals such as through Airbnb.
A maximum size was removed from the law, but Planning Board approval will be required if the unit is greater than 1,000 square feet and its floor area is greater than 50 percent of the primary building’s floor area. No off-street parking is required.
Capital plans
The City Council on Monday (June 7) unanimously adopted a five-year capital plan that details $29 million in equipment purchases and infrastructure upgrades for 2026 to 2030.
The plan authorizes $6.5 million in spending for 2026, a year that will be highlighted by the renovation and greening of the southwest corner of Memorial Park, estimated to cost $400,000. The city plans to resurface the basketball courts, install pickleball courts, construct a softball batting cage and renovate the bathroom at that end of the park for public use.
The adjacent skateboard park has been repaved, with new skating elements and an “art wall” installed. Phase 2 of that work will include new lighting. The parking lot in front of the skate park will also be redesigned, and numerous trees will be planted in that corner of the park.
Further improvements could include exercise stations and tennis courts. The city may also contract with a food truck to operate at the park.
The most expensive project planned for 2026 is the $1.6 million construction of a water storage tank on Mount Beacon. Other high-dollar expenditures include a vacuum truck for the Water Department ($670,000), the ongoing milling and paving of streets and installation of Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible curb ramps citywide ($500,000), replacement of a sanitary sewer pump station near Monell Place ($400,000) and a street sweeper for the Highway Department ($340,000).
Notable expenditures in subsequent years include nearly $3.5 million to complete the repaving and rehabilitation of Beekman Street, with sidewalks and an uphill bike lane, in 2028 and $1.6 million in upgrades to Seeger Riverfront Park in 2027, although timing there will depend on whether a transit-oriented development at the Metro-North station proceeds. Replacement of aeration tanks at the wastewater treatment plant is expected to cost $2.6 million in 2028.
