The City of Poughkeepsie Common Council this week received an update on progress on the Luckey Platt building, the towering edifice that for years has held the promise of a fully revitalized downtown Poughkeepsie. Progress, it seems, is marching ever-onward – work on the building has continued since a stop-work order was issued in March due to building code violations that developer Alma Realty was ordered to address. Among them, Alma needed to fix a flawed standpipe, reassess structural steel at the site and scale back on plans to construct seven additional apartments that had never been approved in the original site plan. While that work is “on-track” according to fire chief Ken Boyd, there is still no timetable for the building being brought up to code or eventually opened.
It goes without saying that Luckey Platt is vitally important to local business owners, many of whom have staked their fortunes on the eventual re-opening of the former department store. Therefore, it should be equally as important to the Common Council, who are charged with the oversight of the project even above the building department, fire chief and other municipal agencies. Despite the fact that council members can only exercise limited control over the project itself, they can exercise control over city departments and personnel.
The council should ask for monthly updates on the progress of Luckey Platt, making sure that plans are filed and correct, fire codes are up-to-date and inspectors are keeping abreast of the structural changes going on inside the building. If lack of oversight was the reason for the stop-work orders and the delays in the first place, then it’s the council’s job to make sure that it doesn’t happen again. Too many city residents, business owners and potential visitors and homeowners depend on it.
Alma Realty, to their credit, has shown no signs of backing out of the project, and the city has done what’s necessary in stopping work at the structure until proper plans were files and updates were made. And while the developer and city should not rush through the changes, they should make sure things are done right at each step of the way. And the Common Council can play a major role in that. It must make the Luckey Platt building one of its top priorities. The council needs to be vigilant in making sure that updates are heard regularly, that work is progressing on the building in a safe manner and that residents of the City of Poughkeepsie can be confident in the future of this project. Since work was begun on restoring Luckey Platt nearly a decade ago, it has been intrinsically linked to the re-growth of the city. Now city officials bear the responsibility for seeing the project carried out fully and safely. Regular updates at public meetings will help ensure that that goal is met.