Project in Ulster to restore, reuse Wellington Hotel

An effort by residents of Pine Hill in the Town of Shandaken in Ulster County to restore and put the former Wellington Hotel to productive use received a shot in the arm when Ulster County was awarded a $1.6 million Restore New York grant from the state to help pay for the estimated $3 million project.

The residents had formed Wellington Blueberry LLC to purchase the property and coordinate the restoration. The Kingston-based nonprofit RUPCO was brought in as the developer and plans to create 10 affordable housing units, a cafe and a food market in the building.

The 12,000-square-foot building at 310 Main St. was built in 1882. In 2002, it was listed in the National Registry of Historic Places. In 2010, it became part of Pine Hill’s Historic District, which encompasses all of Main Street and Pine Hill’s central business district.

“As a county government, we are committed to helping our Catskills communities thrive, and the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of the beloved Wellington Hotel will restore this historic building as an economic and community anchor while providing much needed affordable housing,” said Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger.

Since buying the building and its approximately one-acre of property, Wellington Blueberry LLC members and community volunteers cleaned up the land, which is expected to be made available for public use. The LLC has invested almost $200,000 for architectural drawings, structural reports, and minor stabilization repairs to the building.

Jan Jaffe, president of the Wellington LLC board and volunteer community engagement coordinator for Shandaken said, “It’s delicate work, hard work and mostly volunteer work. This award gets the Wellington closer to its goal of increasing Shandaken’s affordable housing stock by almost 3% with 10 affordable housing units and a market.”

According to Kevin O’Connor, CEO of RUPCO, “The former Wellington Hotel project is a fabulous opportunity to join forces with Ulster County and a group of committed, local volunteers.”