Hyde Park’s village business community was dealt a disappointing blow last week when one of the principal partners for a pending commercial development announced the sewer treatment plant is on hold, which effectively puts any plans for a village sewer district on hold as well.
Representatives for two large developments, St. Andrews at Historic Hyde Park and The Club at Hyde Park, met on July 17 with Hyde Park’s business community at Coppola’s restaurant to discuss the status of the developments and their impact on a village sewer district.
Business owners approached the Town Board last month to question the status of the sewer district, as a sewer treatment plant was expected to be built soon in conjunction with the mixed-used St. Andrews at Historic Hyde Park. Developer Pierre Gagne had agreed to build a sewer treatment plant at the St. Andrews site, which would serve businesses and residences at his development as well as the Route 9 business district. Another major development, The Club at Hyde Park, was also planning to tie into the St. Andrews sewer treatment plant. Hyde Park business owners saw the pending sewer district as an opportunity to expand their businesses and become more competitive with surrounding towns.
Supervisor Pompey Delafield (D) explained why the Town Board was reticent to form a sewer district without a firm plan in place with the St. Andrews developers. “We approved the concept plan and got signatures,” said Delafield, referring to a majority petition by village property owners to form a sewer district. Delafield explained that he did not want property owners to incur any costs until he was confident the sewer treatment plan was in place. “That’s the reason you haven’t seen anything signed by the town board today,” he said.
The St. Andrews project
Joseph Gaudio, a former Hyde Park resident and partner of Reliance Realty Partners, based in Stamford, Conn., spoke on behalf of the St. Andrews project. To the disappointment of his audience, Gaudio announced that the St. Andrews project has fallen victim to current economic conditions and will not move forward until a major commercial tenant signs on the dotted line. “I would describe the project as on hold temporarily,” said Gaudio. He added that the project’s delay is “solely due to the economy; capital and credit markets are in complete disarray,” said Gaudio. He described the capital market as “unprecedented,” and said, “changes with energy and food prices have had huge implications” on the economy.
Gaudio, who spoke with the eloquence and vagaries of a seasoned politician, gave few specifics but said he was optimistic that the St. Andrews’ concept of a village-type atmosphere will lend itself to current housing trends. “We remain enthusiastic,” said Gaudio. “With energy prices being what they are, we believe people are going to start gravitating toward communities,” he said.
Gaudio said that his company’s plan of action is to attract a commercial base, such as a large hotel, as well as the rental housing market. “Retail is not our primary focus right now,” he said, noting that the “residential component is in a state of flux.” However, Gaudio added that, “the rental market is stronger than residential.”
The Club at Hyde Park
Sandy Zimmerman, developer of The Club at Hyde Park, offered more specifics regarding the status of his mixed-use development aimed at adults age 50 and over. The Club at Hyde Park includes town homes, condominiums, hotel, spa, clubhouse, pool, assisted living facility, medical building, outdoor amphitheater and OASIS, an adult continuing education facility, all on 142 acres. “I’ve been living the life of turtles,” quipped Zimmerman upon addressing the audience. “We have a wonderful plan but the Department of Environmental Conservation thinks there’s a possibility for turtles on the property,” he added.
Zimmerman explained that the DEC believes that Blanding’s turtles exist on the parcel, which borders St. Andrews Road between Routes 9 and 9G; until a turtle is found, said Zimmerman, the DEC is allowed three years to conduct a turtle study. “We decided to say there’s a turtle,” said Zimmerman, who has revised his plan to accommodate for a turtle population at the end of the property. “This is a turtle plan,” said Zimmerman as he unveiled new architectural renderings with fewer homes.
“It’s an environment for active adults,” said Zimmerman, who noted that the OASIS program has been very popular at other locales. “OASIS has 350,000 members across the country,” he said. “It’s going to be a big attraction for the people who live here.”
Zimmerman said he intends to recruit teaching staff from Bard, Vassar, Marist and other nearby campuses to teach courses at OASIS, and plans to offer performances such as Shakespeare in the Park at the outdoor amphitheatre. “This is the kind of life we think seniors would like to live,” said Zimmerman. Zimmerman, who said he gave up 30 estate homes to the turtles rather than wait another three years for DEC study, is anxious to get moving on his project. “Our intention is to start building as soon as we get approval-hopefully spring,” he said. “We’re delighted to be here in Hyde Park. We want this project to zing,” said Zimmerman.
The community speaks
Several residents and business owners posed questions to Gaudio regarding the St. Andrews project. Bob Kampf, a previous town board member, asked if there would still be a residential component to St. Andrews, which was slated to have single-family homes, villas, town home and apartments. “The residential component will be more toward the rental side initially,” said Gaudio, who added that homes will be built smaller in size with closer proximity to one another.
In response to a question regarding benchmarks, Gaudio replied that the St. Andrews project needs a “series of things to make it go forward,” including a hotel component, culinary (CIA) component, and rental apartments; at present, none of these elements are firmly in place. “I’m a little more optimistic that this will not be several years,” said Gaudio.
John Coppola, owner of Coppola’s restaurant, voiced his surprise that there are no firm commitments for the St. Andrews project. “In reality, you never had a tenant or demand,” Coppola said to Gaudio. Other residents wondered if the sewer treatment plant could be built prior to tenants signing on to the development. “Does this mean you’re not going forward until you have signed leases?” asked Hyde Park resident Aileen Rohr. Gaudio replied that it takes “millions and millions of dollars to put the infrastructure in place,” which will not happen without a confirmed tenant.
Resident Jim Langan commented that the lack of a sewer treatment plant will also affect The Club at Hyde Park. “Zimmerman can’t go forward without a sewer,” said Lanagan. “Unless I’m missing something, what leads you to believe this thing’s ever going to see the light of day?” asked Lanagan of the St. Andrews project.
“There’s an underserved hotel market,” said Gaudio, adding that “the New York City market is not staying overnight. On the hotel side, the demand is here already,” said Gaudio.
Meanwhile, Sandy Zimmerman is left to ponder what to do with his project, which is moving forward, but lacks a sewer treatment plant. “I don’t think we can just stand by waiting for another project without an alternative,” said Zimmerman. “I’m not about to sit back and do nothing with my fingers crossed that something’s happening in the future,” he added.
Gaudio, who offered no specifics, reiterated his commitment to the St. Andrews project. “I’m trying to create realistic expectations,” he replied. “We’re certainly willing to put up our share – we’re committed to this project,” he said.
When contacted following the meeting, John Coppola voiced his frustration that the sewer project was stalled. “I’m very disappointed, very discouraged,” he said. “It’s been four years and we’re still at stage 1,” he added. Coppola said he hopes that Gaudio will be able to attract tenants to the St. Andrews project. “I’m not quite sure how he’s going to draw potential tenants … he’s quite confident, but I question it,” said Coppola. Coppola, who also serves on the board of the Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce, said he and fellow chamber members had a feeling that something was amiss with the sewer treatment plant. “We suspected something was wrong,” he said. “If it was good news, we would have heard about it.”
Liz Roger, president of the Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce, said she’s disappointed that the sewer project is on hold but is grateful that town representatives protected village property owners by not forming a sewer district in haste. “I am very thankful to Pompey Delafield, Bob Linville and George Rodenhausen for due diligence,” she said. “They did a great job, and it’s very important that the community understand that they were protecting the interests of the taxpayers,” she said. “At no point did they hold up the developer or cause them to lose interest,” said Roger, who also voiced her frustration with the sewer delay. “I feel very disappointed for the sewer district people,” she said. “Clearly, a lot of them wanted the sewer. It’s been twenty years of trying to get a district … it’s a sorrow that it’s not going to happen.”
Roger and Coppola acknowledge that the fate of the sewer project rests in the hands of the St. Andrews developers. Coppola and Roger also agree that open communication will help the project succeed; both supported the recent meeting in an effort to keep the business community informed. “It’s important to speak and tell the facts,” said Roger. “We need an infrastructure, but I don’t write the check,” she added. “Hopefully, Gaudio will keep pursuing and get the project off the ground so we can push through the sewer.”
Meanwhile, Roger is confident that Zimmerman will have a backup plan to keep The Club at Hyde Park moving along. “Sandy Zimmerman will figure out what to do with the sewer issue,” she said. “He certainly seems to be very interested in the community.”