Developer proposes million-dollar homes off Route 9
The Philipstown Planning Board gave its final approval on March 20 to a site plan for Hudson Highlands Reserve, a 24-lot residential project revived in 2021 after being in limbo for more than five years.
Horton Road LLC, the developer, applied to construct 22 homes on part of a 210-acre property between Horton Road and East Mountain Road North, setting aside 79 percent as open space. The homes, at 2,500-to-3,000 square feet, will be listed for $1 million to $3 million and built to “green” environmental standards. They will be clustered, along with two existing residences, on 31 acres and accessed from a new road off Route 9.
The development also will include a commercial lot on the highway and a 15-acre common lot with a 19th-century barn for a homeowners’ association clubhouse. As part of its agreement with the town, Horton Road LLC agreed to pay $105,000 in recreation fees.
The project is Philipstown’s first approved “conservation subdivision,” which allows the developer to build more homes in exchange for leaving open space. Its 166 acres of protected space will include portions of Clove Creek, the 5.7-acre Ulmar Pond, forests and wetlands, and a one-lane, stonewall-lined trail that is a remnant of a roadway connecting Horton Road and East Mountain Road North.
Under a conservation agreement between Horton Road LLC and the town, the open space will be reserved for “passive recreational uses” by the homeowners, such as cross-country skiing, hiking, picnicking and walking. The agreement also restricts new buildings, herbicides and pesticides and the clearing of trees and vegetation.
Although Horton Road LLC still has conditions to satisfy, such as obtaining a state Department of Transportation permit for the Route 9 entrance and approval from Putnam County for wells, the Planning Board approval caps a process that began in 2014.
Horton Road LLC is owned by the David Isaly 2008 Trust and the Jason Isaly 2008 Trust, and managed by Christina Isaly Liceaga, David Isaly’s sister and the wife of Ulises Liceaga, who was identified in 2014 as the project’s architect.
Ulises Liceaga told the Planning Board in 2014 that he and his wife purchased land on East Mountain Road North in 2000 to build a weekend home while living in New York City. “Avid horseback riders, we looked for a place to have some horses” and began envisioning Hudson Highlands Reserve, he said. In 2013, Horton Road LLC had acquired parcels from Lyons Realty, Rodney Weber and Joseph and Denise Frisenda.
After a public hearing in 2019, the project went dormant while its owners prepared responses to detailed questions from the Planning Board and others and began drafting a state-mandated environmental impact statement. In 2021, Horton Road LLC reintroduced the project to the Planning Board, which granted preliminary site plan approval in September 2023.
Everything has become overdeveloped as all the charm of true country living has disappeared. In addition, I find the development of the Fjord Trail to be a disaster: concrete, cars, excessive people and a true loss of our community.
Open space aside, we don’t want more development, more traffic or more people clogging up our communities, which have been driven to look like White Plains. And homes that cost $1 million each? Ridiculous. So much for small-town charm.
Let’s think about this: $1 million to $3 million homes going up on a not-so-charming stretch of Route 9, surrounded by a patchwork of businesses and junkyards. Just imagine the thrill: pulling out of your $3 million mansion and rolling right past a junkyard. Sounds so luxurious, right?
City people have ruined this area. What a shame we lost our beloved country living. And wait till they start with their left-wing politics.
“Conservation subdivision”? Who came up with that doublespeak?
What a joke! Conserved land for the use of its residents. Don’t you mean private property? [via Facebook]
That is not affordable housing; the taxes will be astronomical and the homeowners’ fees ridiculous. No wonder people are fleeing New York. [via Facebook]
I don’t remember voting on this. It should be up to the taxpayers, not politicians. [via Facebook]