The proposed Hudson River Valley Resort at the former Williams Lake Hotel in Rosendale will be subject to state review after the Department of Environmental Conservation, acting under state environmental laws, declared itself “lead agency” for the project.  Â
Canopy Development L.L.C.”™s application seeks to have town zoning law changed to allow a “planned resort community.” Under the application, the developer would expand part of the 95-room Williams Lake Hotel and demolish another section to build a 130-room facility and 160 homes on about 325 acres of the 779-acre property.
Also included in the proposal are a 19,000-square-foot spa, a 5,000-square-foot wellness center, a 5,000-square-foot welcome and arrival center, an interpretive center, a courtyard with a skating rink, and yoga and meditation studio, a boathouse and a teahouse. In public discussion, Canopy officials had put a roughly $200 million price tag on the total project, which is likely to be built in two phases.
The developers completed their so-called scoping document under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) last November, and officials at the town and state level had since then been seeking to determine the lead agency, which is charged with responsibility for overseeing the complexities of the SEQRA process.
Tim Allred, the project manager for Canopy Development said the July 2 decision by the state was expected. And he said the company expects the DEC will issue a so-called “positive declaration,” which under SEQRA requires the most intensive level of review. He said factors ranging from the size of the proposal to its location in a rugged terrain of lakes, wetlands cliffs and forests, and which is home to endangered species including the Indiana Bat all require in-depth review prior to permitting.
“We are going to work with DEC and the town and all the other involved agencies,” said Allred. “The main message is we are very committed to engage and move the process quickly. Everyone deserves to get more information about the project and its effects.
We are just eager to get going.”
 Town Supervisor Patrick McDonough said the town will not contest the state”™s decision. “I”™m glad the decision is at least come down so we can begin to address the issues,” said McDonough, adding that DEC officials were “very respectful” of town concerns.
Concerns about the project have divided the small town of Rosendale, with supporters saying the project will bring much-needed investment into a funky historic town whose shops and galleries and restaurants along its Main Street often seem to have more potential than commerce. Opponents worry that the William”™s Lake project will replace what was a community landmark and gathering place with a gated community, setting up an us-vs.-them dynamic.
“We never use the term gated community; it will be a hotel resort, with some degree of security and some degree of privacy, we don”™t know how much,” Allred said. “It”™s a great opportunity to link the resort with the old Victorian Main Street that frankly could use a shot in the arm.”
Allred said he is no longer estimating total project costs. “Things change so much as they evolve,” he said. And he said time lines for construction are subject to the same phenomenon. “Its all just taking longer than you think it will and there”™s a lot of variability there. I”™m an environmentalist; we are green developers; we certainly believe you have to do things right. But at the same time, it”™s beginning to become pretty clear to me why folks don”™t end up doing projects in New York state. It”™s pretty hard to proceed.”
