Wine Village project nears SEQRA review process in Highland

After two years of discussion and review by the Town of Lloyd Planning Board and Town Board, the proposed Wine Village project is getting closer to a final presentation and SEQRA review. According to Supervisor Paul Hansut, the project has to wait until the final draft recommendations of the Master Plan Review Committee have been presented and adopted by the Town Board — recommendations which include some zone changes that would make the Wine Village project and other projects viable.

The project is slated for 440 acres owned by the Feinberg family south of Rite Aid on Blue Point Road on the east side of 9W. Currently that land is zoned R1 and R2 (residential), which is why zoning changes are required to allow for more mixed use.

“We’re in constant contact with the developer [The Hudson Valley Wine Village],” said Hansut. “It’s a mixed-use development with a residential component, a light industrial aspect, as well as a hotel and conference center. But we can’t move forward until we have the final recommendations and decide whether or not to adopt them and make the zoning changes they suggest.”

Hansut is confident that the final recommendations will be before the Town Board for discussion in July.

According to Andy Maxon, the project director of the Hudson Valley Wine Village, Hansut’s assessment is correct. “We’ve completed our Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement and are prepared to submit that, but are waiting for the Master Plan and Comprehensive Plan to be completed.”

Maxon said that project includes building 830 residential units, 450,000 square feet of light industrial and a 110-room hotel and conference center that would overlook the Hudson River, as well as 150,000 square feet of “adapted reuse” for retail.

“It was a functioning, producing winery dating back to the 1920’s,” said Maxon. “When you pull into the courtyard, it’s like an old-time Tuscan village. It’s beautiful. Our hope is to do an adaptive reuse of that building to keep it true to its original state.”

Maxon also noted that the hotel slated for the bluff of the Hudson River would “not interfere with any site lines or views, as we are not proposing to go over the regulated heights. We also want to create a walking path along the bluff for all residents to use that could eventually connect to the Fanny Reese State Park at the northern end of the property.”