A plan to convert the former Reformed Church of Beacon property into a hotel, conference center and event space continues under review by the city of Beacon”™s Planning Board in Dutchess County. The 2.28-acre property at 1113 Wolcott Ave. is owned by Prophecy Theater LLC.
The applicant wants to construct a new 13,257-square-foot building on the site for the hotel that would be in the same location as the former church parsonage. The plan would create a 30-room hotel that would be 2-1/2 stories tall with 31 off-street parking spaces. The interior of the church would be renovated into an accessory-use space that would include a conference center and a food service section that would be used as a café, restaurant and bar. In addition, an on-premises cemetery abandoned for a century would be restored and opened as a public park.
According to attorney Taylor Palmer of the White Plains-based law firm Cuddy & Feder, the hotel and conference center would have a maximum capacity of 350 people, including employees. Although the applicant originally envisioned operating seven days a week with special programs, it now suggests that larger events would be limited to weekends with smaller functions such as seminars, workshops or retreats held on weekdays.
Palmer said that the café would have outdoor seating available, but the total number of indoor and outdoor seats would be 50. He said that the café would offer meals for guests of the hotel and also would be open to the public. He said that the plan “includes the use of on-site parking and traffic flow attendants, directional signage and providing information to event attendees on optimal parking areas and public transportation options.” Palmer said they would try to reduce reliance on personal vehicles, offer shuttles, valet parking and facilitate walking and use of bicycles by people who attend events at the facility.
Palmer said that the 31 parking spaces that would be located on the rear portion of the property would be intended for use by hotel guests and employees. Parking required for attendees of events would be handled through public parking around the site and an agreement with a local funeral home to use its private parking lot that”™s close to the site.
“As indicated in a previously submitted Traffic & Parking Study, these public parking locations have been observed under existing conditions and have been found to have more than sufficient available parking spaces to accommodate the needs of the largest events anticipated at the site,” Palmer said. “The applicant will provide a free shuttle service from any off-site parking location with a distance greater than 1,000 feet when needed for a larger event.”
Gavin Hecker of Prophecy Theater LLC said, “The church use is compatible with the neighborhood and the building has stood as a place for the community to gather for close to 175 years. The neighborhood itself has been built around it, and now welcomes and supports this second iteration.”
Hecker said that they believe what they”™re proposing is the best use for the existing 5,000-square-foot historic church.
“It was not built to be a 50-seat restaurant, and no one wants to see it turned into condos or a private studio. Any use that significantly decreases capacity will also severely jeopardize the ability to preserve such a large historic building and/or make the building less accessible to our community,” Hecker said.
The church was built in about 1860 as a new home for the Reformed Dutch Church of Fishkill Landing congregation that had been established in 1813. A Facebook page that had been maintained by the Reformed Church of Beacon dating from 2014 pointed out that “the steeple can be easily seen rising above the Hudson.” The church was placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S. Department of Interior. The cemetery was the burial site of William Few Jr., who died in 1828 and was a signer of the U.S. Constitution for the State of Georgia. In 1973, his remains were moved to Augusta, Georgia.
