Thirty days – that’s the approximate timeline for the completion of Luckey Platt, the landmark department store-turned-multiuse facility at the intersection of Main and Academy streets in the City of Poughkeepsie.
The vacant 165-year-old building was purchased from the city by Queens-based developer Alma Realty for a dollar in 2006. It was slated to house 135 apartments and floors of community spacing, stores and community venues, but in March 2007 a stop-work order was issued to the site, and work was halted because the project’s developers completed work which exceeded the scope of their original permit. Alma Realty had been given a list of deficiencies that needed to be addressed, and had failed to supply the necessary paperwork within a timely manner.
Until last month, minimal progress had been made at the site. According to Fire Chief Ken Boyd, stop-work orders generally last anywhere from one month to three months.
“A year is on the long side; the length of time is dependant on the construction company,” said Boyd.
After nearly 12 months, Alma Realty provided 90 percent of the missing documentation – enough to lift the stop work order. Work resumed at the site last month, and last week the city planning board approved the developer’s revised site plan.
“If everything stays its course, we’re looking forward to an opening in a month’s time,” said City of Poughkeepsie Mayor John Tkazyik.
According to Tkazyik minor changes still have to be made to the building before a certificate of occupancy can be issued – including checking that the building’s sprinkler systems and elevators work properly.
“Not everybody was thoroughly pleased with the revised site plan. Our architect on the board wasn’t happy with what they had – he wanted everything to be symmetrical. They really improved the look of the building,” said planning board chairman Graham Jones.
Prior to last month, Jones says there were a number of aspects of the plan that were not aesthetically pleasing, including windows that lacked detail, misplaced air conditioning covers, and awkward designs.
“They had some decorative features that were rather odd, running horizontally and vertically, and horizontally again. Now they’re all running horizontally,” said Jones.
Already established, Luckey, Platt & Company department store moved into the five-story location in 1923. The store was the region’s major retailer for nearly half a century, until the development of stores along the Rt. 9 corridor. Luckey Platt closed its doors in 1980, and the building remained vacant until it was purchased by Alma Realty in 2006. The building remained an integral part of the city’s revitalization effort, as well as a topic for debate in last fall’s mayoral race.
The project was under way when Tkazyik took office this January, and in his Jan. 14 state of the city address, he vowed to see the it through.
“We’re looking forward to the successful completion of this long awaited project,” Tkazyik said this week.