Big project, but no promises on completion

If a lack of shovel-ready sites is an economic problem for the Hudson Valley, then the owners of the Winston Farm present their site as a solution with rolling hills and easy Thruway access.

But the question remains whether the regional economy can wait several years or more before the site is ready for use, as the complexities of environmental review, public input ”“ it”™s a given some group will be opposed ”“ and the existence of other available technology centers nearby could stall or kill the development. 
Making the case for a multiphase development at the 780-acre Winston Farm, consultants CH2M Hill and its affiliate IDC Architects on Sept. 23 presented an updated version of a plan for about 2 million square feet of industrial plants, commercial service buildings and residential housing at the site where the Woodstock ”™94 music festival was held.

Winston Farm is located at the intersection of State Route 212 and Route 32, stretching roughly northwest from that point. Its main entrance is located immediately opposite southbound exit 20 on the state Thruway.  However, to access the site from the northbound Thruway exit requires navigating a bridge on Route 212 back across the Thruway, a potential source of bottlenecks.    ?The CH2M Hill report was received politely by about 70 residents, but there was also some unease expressed about the need to rezone the parcel from residential to industrial. And there are concerns regarding whether a development at the site would have sufficient water, how the sewage treatment and storm water retention would be managed and whether such a massive complex would harm the traffic flow along the key interchanges abutting the site.

Roger Pearson, director of planning for consultant IDC Architects presented drawing and ideas to the crowd showing how the farm that is currently rolling fields, streams, swamps and woody hillsides would be transformed into a corporate mecca bringing good jobs in manufacturing hi tech products in fields including solar components and nanotech based materials.

The development plan calls for two technology manufacturing buildings totaling 1 million square feet; three buildings with flexible uses totaling 103,000 square feet; research, development and office space in 14 building totaling 760,000 square feet; a hotel and conference center spread across 24 buildings totaling 73,200 square feet; three commercial buildings totaling 28,800 square feet; and housing for corporate employees in 27 buildings totaling 108,000 square feet.?The housing is a new element to the plan, which was first presented to residents in rougher form over the summer. Pearson said that the housing is “a big addition” to the plan, saying corporations move employees around like chess pieces and that having guaranteed housing on-site would make the facility that much more attractive to would-be tenants.

 

He said the rolling topography of the Winston Farm would allow the buildings to be largely hidden from off-site locations, as the buildings would be about 40 feet in height while trees that would be preserved average around 75 feet in height. “The idea is to nestle it into the trees,” said Pearson.

 

And Pearson said designers would make efforts to create buildings with faux-Adirondack or other motifs designed to fit the historic and rural character of the Saugerties area. “We”™re not talking about chrome and glass; we”™re talking about something else,” he said, though it is too soon to say what specifically that might be.
While generally receptive to the idea of developing the Winston Farm in a bid to return manufacturing jobs to the area, caution was a watchword for many in the audience. Some worried that the wetlands and wildlife on the site would be trampled under by the development. Others feared that if the town rezones the site for industry and the project is either not built or cannot attract green, hi-tech clientele, that smokestack industries might move into the industrial park.

Representatives of CH2M Hill and property owner Winston Farm Limited Partnership fanned out into four breakout sessions to answer questions from the community. They said meetings such as the one held Sept. 23 are intended to address potential problems before the state environmental review (SEQRA) process begins.?But that process is a complex one even for a simple project and officials connected with the Winston Farm proposal are reluctant to even hazard a guess when construction will begin let alone when it will be completed.   ?“In terms of time to put a shovel in the ground, that depends on a number of things,” said Pearson after the public meeting. “It could be one thing or it could be another thing, so I”™m kind of afraid to provide that time frame.”

As for completion, “That depends on the market,” said Pearson. “But a 15-year horizon is a kind of reasonable estimate.”