The plan to rejuvenate the 80-year-old Williams Lake Resort in Ulster County is still moving ahead, although the pace might be equated to that of a snail.
“I”™m committed environmentalist. That”™s my field and background,” said Tim Allred, project manager for Canopy Development”™s Hudson River Valley Resort in the town of Rosendale. “I never doubted our project should go through a thorough environmental review … but it doesn”™t mean a multi-year review with an unacceptably long time frame. The lake was always privately owned. Some people have the idea we are taking away their property, when, in fact, it was always private property.”
The developer bought the property from Anita Williams Peck in 2007.
“The DEIS (draft environmental impact statement) was accepted on May 4, and there will be a public hearing on June 6,” Allred said. “We are encouraging folks to let their voices be heard. We have been involved with the town as the SEQR (state environmental quality review) has been ongoing since 2007. It has taken four years for us to get to a DEIS….and we have much more ahead of us before we are able to get into a site plan application.”
The plans for the former Williams Lake Resort are extensive:
Ӣ a 94-room LEED-certified hotel lodge with restaurant, 22 lakefront hotel suites and 14 separate cabins;
Ӣ a spa;
Ӣ a fitness center;
Ӣ a wellness center;
Ӣ a yoga/meditation center;
Ӣ a skating rink and
Ӣ an amphitheater.
It will include a total of 160 residences ”“ 89 town homes and 71 single-family homes.
A conservation land easement the former owner acquired in 1999 protects more than 400 acres of the 780-acre property, which the developer plans to expand to keep more open space. Three lakes for swimming, fishing and boating are part of the allure the developer hopes will lure both vacationers and buyers to its facility once it is built.
Despite plans to make the new destination as earth-friendly as technology allows, there are some in the area that would like to see the Williams Lake property remain as is, although it is privately owned. An organization called Save The Lakes has protested the development from the outset and has been vigorous in its opposition.
Allred is confident the effort and good faith the company has put into its work will eventually bear fruit.
“I stand behind our process with absolute certainty. We could not have been more collaborative … yet, it has taken us four years to get to this point and many millions of dollars already invested. I stopped wondering when the shovel will get in ground.”
The original plans called for a 2010 groundbreaking. Allred is hoping to complete the bulk of the application process by 2012 ”“ “or perhaps 2013; who knows?”
Gov. Andrew Cuomo”™s appointment of Joe Martens, former Open Space Institute president, as commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Conservation gives Allred reason to hope.
“I am also elated that Pattern for Progress and its president, Jonathan Drapkin, have taken up the SEQR issue and put it on the forefront of its agenda. There”™s a reason New York has a reputation as the worst place to try to do business in. … Hopefully, we will see a change for the better because of these efforts now ongoing.”
Allred calls Hudson River Valley Resorts financial analysis overly conservative, but it projects a 10-year build out, 1,300 construction jobs and once the resort is up and running, 300 permanent jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue.
“The immediate impact will be $4 million net in property tax to be distributed to the town, school district and state. Add sales tax, bed tax and tourism destination, and you are talking real economic contribution to the Hudson Valley economy.”
Allred will be making a presentation on the status of Hudson River Valley Resort to the Ulster County Chamber of Commerce”™s monthly breakfast meeting at the Kingston Holiday Inn on May 24,beginning at 7:30 a.m.
