The proposal for a high-end resort hotel and housing by Canopy Development, a Northhampton, Mass.-based green development company, in the town of Rosendale is still in the infant stages, but already the project, which would attract an influx of affluent visitors to a community once known for its cement making, is proving divisive.
Slated to be built on a 797-acre site that includes three lakes and the 1930s-era Williams Lake Hotel, which closed in June, the development is being welcomed by some as a generator of badly needed jobs and tax dollars ”“ while preserving much of the property in its natural state. Just over 400 acres belong to a conservation easement that can”™t be developed. A ridgeline overlooking one of the lakes would not be developed, and the developer has shelved plans to build a beach on a sensitive shoreline area of Williams Lake.
But opponents, many of whom belong to a group called Save the Lakes, said the project is overly large and would have a significant negative impact on the environment, damaging the region”™s fragile aquifer and disturbing the habitat of several endangered species. Some residents also fear the upscale resort would change forever the character of the town, long a magnet for artists and the self-employed.
The development would consist of an expansion of the current hotel from 57 to 94 rooms, plus 36 separate lakeside “cabins” or “lakefront suites” (as they are identified on a map by the developer); 101 townhouses; 59 single-family homes; a 19,000-square-foot spa; a wellness center, arrival building, skating rink, interpretive center, boathouse and teahouse, and a yoga and meditation studio.
Besides increasing the tax base, supporters said the proposed resort would attract more customers to patronize the businesses located along the townӪs single main street. Among RosendaleӪs quirky, one-of-a-kind attractions are a vintage movie theater, gourmet cheese store, and the Rosendale Caf̩, popular for its musical performances and weekly chess matches. But the townӪs reputation as a charmer has been undercut lately by numerous empty storefronts.
“It”™s stagnant at the moment,” said outgoing town Supervisor Bob Gallagher. “I”™m supportive of any project that comes into town, as long as (the developer) goes by the procedures. Canopy is offering an environmentally sound project.”
“The town absolutely needs more business,” said Patrick McDonough, the new town supervisor and a former member of the town board. However, McDonough said he”™s not automatically convinced the resort would be a boon. “I”™m not positive one development will put us over the edge. I don”™t want to build the development and allow boutiques and restaurants there so the guests won”™t come into town. I want to make sure the fnal product is good for the entire town.”
Gallagher said the $200 million project could contribute significantly to the tax base. Rosendale is currently assessed at $656 million, which means the resort would comprise a quarter of the total assessed value of the town, he said.
Rosendale Planning Board chairman Billy Liggan said the resort would reinvigorate the defunct tourism industry. “The day of the family resort has gone by the wayside,” he said. “Families don”™t travel here anymore, and you have an evolution of the hospitality industry toward the spa.” Plus, “Canopy is doing a lot of homework in terms of the environmental and geological studies.”
Canopy representatives said the resort would bring in 450 permanent jobs. Such a big employer would help contribute to better town services, as well as fill the need for volunteer firefighters, said Liggan. “We don”™t have any young recruits because they”™re busy commuting out of Rosendale to work.”
But other residents said the project threatened the area”™s natural resources. Documents submitted by Canopy to the town reveal that the project would utilize approximately 160,000 gallons of water a day and generate as much waste water. That”™s a huge issue, said Noelle Damon, a Rosendale resident who belongs to Save the Lakes. “It isn”™t that we”™re against what they”™re proposing to do so much as it is the scale of the development,” she said. The town”™s recently passed comprehensive plan identifies protecting the water supply and preserving natural resources as top priorities.
Damon said her group also fears the project might end up increasing the tax burden on town residents, due to the need for more services. New development does not always result in a positive cash flow in taxes, she said. “It ends up being much more of a drain in terms of infrastructure, bringing up property values and taxes.”
However, she acknowledged that the project does incorporate “some very interesting green development ideas, which are really appealing for people in this area.”
Tim Allred, senior project manager at Canopy Development, said the project would be a pedestrian-friendly retreat where guests would focus on wellness amid a beautiful natural setting. The expanded hotel, which would include a restaurant and rooftop caf̩, would be built to the U.S. Green Building CouncilӪs Gold LEED (leadership in environmental and energy design) standard, he said.
Solar-powered golf carts might be utilized as transportation around the resort. Solar energy and geothermal systems, utilizing the caves that riddle the site, are being considered for the structures, along with green roofs covered with plantings, which would also help camouflage the development from the public access trail the company plans to build along a ridge on the property.
Furthermore, “thoughtful planning is the most important (green) aspect, in terms of the siting” of the buildings, Allred said. Energy-efficient materials would be utilized, including possibly indigenous stone from the property. The size of the buildings would be modest. “We want to create a cool home, without being in the McMansion style,” Allred said. The four-season resort would stress the traditional activities of hiking, biking and cross country skiing, along with yoga and other “holistic practices” ”“ creating employment opportunities for the many local people engaged in alternative lifestyles.
He said the interpretive center would highlight the site”™s industrial heritage. “We see the property as an interesting story-telling opportunity, because the site has a really rich history,” Allred said. “Other folks would see it as a liability, but we see it as an asset. We have mapped the mines and we”™ll celebrate that.”
The gated nature of the resort has been another contentious issue. “While one of the stickier points about our proposal is that it targets a more affluent group, we totally get it about the real community character issues,” Allred said. He said the impact on schools and other services would be minimal because the purchasers of the homes and townhouses “are not going to be there very much. This would be a second or third home for them.”
Allred said that Canopy was seeking ways to connect with the community. For example, organic gardens planned for the property wouldn”™t only supply guests but also a local farmer”™s market. “One of the tricky components of partnering with the operator is how much of a connection with the community at large there can be,” said Allred. “We”™d like it to be a large one.”
He said Canopy had also met with Ulster County Planning Board director Dennis Doyle to discuss providing some type of public access to a lake on a neighboring parcel. While private, Williams Lake Hotel offered beach club memberships for $450 a year to local residents, and for a nominal fee people could cross country ski or hike on the land. Allred said there was still a possibility for some type of public access on one of the lakes Canopy is purchasing.
Damon and other sources said that while Canopy had met with Save the Lakes, it had not been clear about its plans. She said the group objected to the company representatives”™ meetings behind closed doors with planning board members, which potentially violates the state”™s open meeting law.
Allred characterized the company”™s interactions with the public differently. “We have done a decent job reaching out to folks,” he said. The resort plan continues to evolve, as the company receives more input from the public, he said.
Canopy hasn”™t yet purchased the property, which is listed at $7.9 million. Meanwhile, the Rosendale Planning Board and Town Board are meeting to discuss jointly serving as lead agencies for the environmental review of the project. The town board is involved because the project calls for a zoning amendment, which it would oversee. Damon said her group was pushing for more involvement from the state Department of Environmental Conservation, since the impact on water, for example, would affect more than just Rosendale.
Allred said he understood people”™s mistrust of developers. “It makes perfect sense that people are skeptical and cynical. We”™d like folks to get to know us. We plan to do something really good.”
