Continental Commons project approved by Fishkill

A development that would incorporate a restaurant, hotel, retail shops and historical exhibits in the form of an 18th century colonial village has been approved by the Town of Fishkill’s Planning Board. Known as Continental Commons, the project was first proposed in 2015 by developer GLD3 LLC as a follow-up to previous attempts to develop an approximately 10-acre property across from the Duchess Mall at the intersection of Interstate 84 and New York State Route 9.

The Planning Board on Dec. 14 gave site plan approval to the project and also granted a special permit. Also approved was a lot line realignment.

Planning Board Attorney Dominic Cordisco said, “I have to say that I’ve been practicing land use law now for 25 years, 25 years, and never in my entire practice have I come across a resolution that is 27 pages long single-spaced.”

Cordisco said that the review of the project was a very extensive deliberative process with a lot of public interest and revisions to the plans and comments being addressed and multiple public hearings.

“Anyone that’s interested in history and how it arrived at this particular juncture, all they would have to do is read the resolution and it would lead them through the process. It really does define everything and all the steps that were taken up until this point. Bear in mind that the board previously granted preliminary site development plan and special use permit approval for this project in December of 2019. So here we are four years later and the applicant has been pursuing conditional final approval before the board. They also have been working toward satisfying various different conditions,” Cordisco said.

The property is located within the Fishkill Supply Depot Site, which included facilities that helped support soldiers of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. A local group that has opposed the project, Friends of the Fishkill Supply Depot, had claimed that the property included a burial ground for soldiers that would be disturbed if the project was built. The developer said that any remains were civilian and the area where bodies were thought to be buried was not going to be disturbed.

Opponents of the project claimed that it did not conform to the town’s Comprehensive Plan and suggested that the town should spearhead an effort to preserve the historic area. Opponents also claimed that there is vacant retail space along with underutilized motels along Route 9 and a new hotel and more retail space are not needed.

GLD3 LLC stakeholder Domenic Broccoli, who is from Pelham Manor, owns a number of iHOP restaurants in the Bronx and a gas station on land adjacent to the Continental Commons site.

“I would like to thank everyone,” Broccoli told the Planning Board. “It’s been 7-1/2 years. I just want to thank everyone for your patience. It’s been a long grind but it’s over finally.”

The developer described the location as having long been considered the gateway to Dutchess County. It said the project would provide public access to a small portion of the original Fishkill Supply Depot site. There would be a 90-room hotel in a two-and-a-half story building. The restaurant building would be an approximately 5,000 square feet. There would be 16,000 square feet of retail space and a 720-square feet visitor’s center.

“Continental Commons embraces and honors the historic nature of its surroundings and provides visitors a renewed perspective on the role Fishkill and Dutchess County played in our quest for independence during the American Revolutionary War,” the developer said in promotional material. “The 18th century architecture of the Continental Commons buildings will complement the renowned Van Wyck Homestead Museum which is located directly across the street. The Continental Commons design is inspired by historic buildings from the surrounding towns.”

The visitor’s center at the site would feature exhibits about the history of the area. Visitors also will be able to explore a trail through the property that will have plaques providing descriptions of historic sights and events. Also planned to be built are replicas of soldiers’ barracks as they existed during the Revolutionary War.

The developer said that a groundbreaking ceremony and the beginning of construction will be announced in the coming months and it will mark “the beginning of an exciting chapter for Continental Commons and the community it serves.” The developer already has been doing some work on the property, including the cutting down of trees.