An artist’s rendering of the proposed Hampton Inn at 4 South Putt Corners Road in New Paltz.
So far, 2014 has been a busy year in terms of development for New Paltz. Not only is there a proposed $60 million college housing complex on the horizon, but now there is a proposal for a $75 million Wildberry Lodge resort.
But there’s also more happening in the college town. A proposed Hampton Inn has cleared the legal hurdles it needs to build and CVS wants to put in a pharmacy. According to New Paltz Town Supervisor Susan Zimet, the Hampton Inn is expected to break ground this spring.
Hampton Inn
Back in July, Hampton Inn won its case in the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division against the owners of nearby Super 8 Motel. Justices ruled that the motel didn’t have grounds to challenge approvals granted to the proposed hotel by the Town of New Paltz.
As many New Paltzians might have noticed, nothing’s has been built at 4 South Putt Corners Road since that time.
According to officials at Town Hall, Hampton Inn owner Jay Modhwadiya continues to meet with the building inspector to satisfy conditions needed to gain a permit.
For instance, Hampton Inn needed to get a Department of Environmental Conservation SPDES storm water permit from the state, install a water main to link to the Cherry Hill water tank, get a highway permit to widen South Putt Corners — among other requirements.
If it weren’t for the Article 78 lawsuit, Hampton Inn would probably already have met the conditions set by the town. The courtroom battle put that process on pause.
“The Hampton Inn just needs to meet site plan conditions,” Zimet explained. “After that they can get the building permit.”
New Paltz doesn’t have much in the way of mid-range options for hotels, which is what Hampton Inn hopes to provide. New Paltz’s Hampton Inn is proposed to be three stories, include 87 rooms and be 46 feet high at the tallest. It’ll be roughly 55,000 square feet.
Zimet said she thought Hampton Inn will be a good fit in the town. “We look forward to this project breaking ground,” she said.
The proposal to build the Hampton Inn dates back to 2008, and Modhwadiya gained approval to build back in 2010.
According to the supervisor, the hotel is likely to be assessed at $4.8 million and would pay $131,660 in property taxes.
CVS Pharmacy
While they haven’t met with the New Paltz Town Planning Board in several months, CVS Pharmacy has at least floated the idea of building a new location at 12 North Putt Corners Road.
What’s proposed — at least preliminarily — is a CVS location similar in layout and design to the one in Hyde Park or the one in Kingston on Washington Avenue. The pharmacy store chain picked out a 6.3-acre site, which is zoned B-2, the Highway Business zone, down the street from the Freihofer’s Bakery Outlet.
According to the town supervisor, CVS is likely to be assessed at $3.6 million if built.
CVS may build there, but my loyalty remains with Dedrick’s!