Eliza Street condominiums incomplete
A lender filed a lawsuit in Dutchess County court this month demanding repayment of nearly $4.63 million from the developer of an incomplete Beacon housing project.
The suit, filed Feb. 4 by Insula Capital Group, alleges that Qele “Charlie” Qelaj, who is listed in a state database as the registered agent of Eliza Street LLC, failed to repay loans of $747,000 and $3,881,950 to construct The Mews at Beacon, a nine-unit condominium development at 53 Eliza St.
The project, which was approved by the Beacon Planning Board in 2019, would have loft-like condos in three buildings around a landscaped courtyard. A representative for the developer said in 2023 that construction was 70 percent complete and Qelaj was getting new financing. Last year the representative said Qelaj had approached a new lender.
Insula said in its complaint that Qelaj requested three extensions on the $747,000 loan, which was taken out in 2021. According to the legal filing, in 2022 Qelaj consolidated two other loans totaling $3.9 million.
In January 2023, the Zoning Board of Appeals granted the project a one-year extension of a variance to construct multi-family units in an area zoned for single-family homes. It also provided an extension on a variance to construct nine units on a parcel that was allowed only six. At that time, the project’s attorney wrote in materials submitted to the ZBA that the three buildings had been constructed and would be “completely finished” within 10 months, notwithstanding complications presented by the pandemic.
Insula asked the court to force the sale of the development to pay the debts, plus interest and fees.
416-420 Main St.
The City Council on Tuesday (Feb. 18) approved a second six-month extension of the special-use permit approved in 2021 for the four-story building at 416-420 Main St.
The project merged two lots and will include retail on the ground floor, office space on the second and third and a single apartment on a recessed fourth floor, as well as an outdoor plaza open to the public. Construction had been delayed by “long lead times required to finish interior spaces,” according to a memo from the city attorney, but is expected to be complete within six months.
I wish someone would report on gentrification and conduct street outreach and talk to the real residents of Beacon. Gentrification has become a growing issue in the city, where longtime residents are being priced out as the cost of living continues to rise.
Once a quiet and affordable town, Beacon is becoming a hotspot for wealthy newcomers, many of whom are driving up property values and rents. This influx of affluent individuals is pushing out families and workers who have called Beacon home for decades. The charm of a close-knit, small-town community is being replaced by luxury developments and high-end businesses catering to a wealthier population.
What was once a peaceful haven is rapidly transforming into a place that feels more like Brooklyn — no longer accessible to those who have lived here for years but increasingly catering to millionaires looking for a weekend getaway or second home. This shift is raising concerns about the loss of Beacon’s unique identity and the displacement of its original residents.
Perhaps the main issue is not gentrification, which is sadly inevitable in any city like this, but rather that, for years now, every one of these news stories contains a paragraph letting us know that the lovely folks at the town/zoning board “granted the developer a variance” for whatever it may be (zoned for single-family, but you want a multi-unit building? No problem! Zoned for six units, but you want nine? No problem! Zoned for a smaller building, but you want larger? No problem!). This happens way more than it should, and it smells more and more like corruption every time it does.
The Eliza Street development should be torn down. It sat through too many winter cycles unprotected without windows or a weather barrier. [via Instagram]
The fact that the city did not protect the residents of small houses on this street is awful! What an eyesore for an otherwise adorable stretch of Eliza. [via Instagram]
Seize the property and give it to a group like Habitat for Humanity to create affordable housing. It seems Beacon is awash with problems from developers who promise one thing, then change their minds to get what they wanted but that boards would initially not allow. Developers and city boards that issue variances with disregard for the populace must be held accountable.