A development that would bring three hotels, two restaurants, five extended stay cottages, a caretaker residence, a water tower and wastewater systems to a 63-acre parcel in the Town of Goshen in Orange County has moved another step closer to possibly becoming reality. The town’s Planning Board has adopted a Final Environmental Impact Statement for the project and was preparing an environmental findings statement for a vote.
The project is known as Goshen Hospitality. The three four-story hotels would have a total of 320 rooms while the two freestanding restaurants each would be 10,000 square feet in size. Each of the restaurants would seat 250 diners. The developer would build a 35-foot water tank to service the project along with wastewater treatment facilities and other infrastructure.
The proposed project is located just under five miles from the Legoland New York theme park and resort, which opened for its second season of operation on March 31.
The project was first proposed in 2017 and has been scaled back with the elimination of a 20,000-square-foot freestanding office building and the reduction in height of the water tower from 70 feet to the 35 feet permitted under current zoning. The project would be located at Cheechunk Road and 6 1/2 Station Road in Goshen, near New York State Route 17.
Before 1994, the development site was agricultural and used for growing crops. Since then it has remained essentially undisturbed. In 2017, a cellular tower was constructed on the site in an easement located near the southwestern property line. No other structures or uses currently exist on the site, according to documentation filed with Goshen.
The developer is identified as Goshen Hospitality LLC with addresses both in Holmdel, New Jersey and Manorville, New York.
According to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the project, its southwest side abuts an Orange County Emergency Services facility. Single-family homes are located to the north and northwest. Nearby is an Orange County Audubon Society sanctuary. An abandoned railroad right-of-way that has been converted into a public trail for pedestrians and bicyclists is located to the south of the site.
Goshen’s Town Engineer, Sean Hoffman, said in a memo to the Planning Board that the project site creates a challenge relative to potential visual and aesthetic impacts since development at lower elevations will be visible along portions of Cheechunk Road and higher portions of the development would be visible from greater distances.
The developer has presented designs that show the use of materials and colors intended to be compatible with the terrain. The developer proposes permanently preserving 13.44-acres of land as open space. The developer says that once fully operational the project is expected to generate approximately $1,307,058 in net revenue for various taxing jurisdictions in Orange County and the equivalent of 245 full-time jobs.
