New Paltz’s village planning board again granted approval for the building at 51 Main Street, the rectangle that has loomed empty over lower Main Street for some years. A site-plan amendment will allow a change in use of the building to include apartments, offices and a jewelry store.
This project has a long history. Construction on the three-story building was started in 2015 after approval was first granted. As the outline began taking shape, some residents wondered how something that tall could have been legal. The building did not actually exceed height requirements for the zone, which is calculated by taking the average height from the four corners. The building was designed for maximum height, with architect Richard Miller not providing rooftop space for heating and cooling systems. That was to become a problem for developer Dimitri Viglis.
The historic preservation commission took a look at the aesthetics and provided comments to the planning board. Earlier this summer planning board chair John Oleske raised concerns that the structure was illegal as proposed. The tension between preventing ugly and preserving freedom to build what one chooses remains unresolved.
Viglis discovered the assessed value for this three-story building, which at the time was to have a two-story restaurant with a second-floor outdoor deck topped by a penthouse apartment with a commanding view of the ridge. In an effort to reduce the tax bill, Viglis asked in 2017 — with construction still ongoing — to amend the site plan by swapping out the two more proposed apartments on the second floor for office space.
Thereafter, an epimethean saga unfolded. Viglis discovered that one cannot put cooling units on the roof of a building that is at the maximum height for the zone. The village board rejected a rejiggered plan to move the machinery behind the building by burying the proposed propane tanks there because the tanks would be inches from village parking spots.
It became apparent that Viglis would need an easement for access to the back of this building. With his approval to build set to expire, Viglis had to make modifications in order to move forward.
An application to amend the site plan filed early in 2019 excised the restaurant in favor of a jewelry store, making it possible to shift to electricity only, eliminating the need for propane entirely. All the proposed uses together exceeded the area allowed under local law, but an area variance was granted by the zoning board of appeals that September.
Negotiations to obtain the easement across village property — needed for garbage pickup and any deliveries, yet overlooked by the planning board and consultants Viglis hired — continued into this year. The easement was granted by the village board last month.
This latest approval carries conditions, the most important being that the easement must be recorded at the county clerk’s office before the plans will be signed by John Litton, or whoever is chair of the planning board. According to board attorney Rick Golden, the approval is good for a year, and Viglis may request an extension of another year.
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