BROADWAY WALGREENS: FINALLY

Brownfields be damned! After six years of waiting, the Walgreens on Broadway is finally poised to break ground.

Today's paper finally made mention of the machines doing some surface work on the site and the Mayor is pleased to see action on the corner. I too am pleased.

For to long, we waited for the clean-up process to occur. Looking at that fenced in gravel lot in the middle of the commercial district gave the impression of neglect in Ward Nine. Very unsettling.

The one factor in the re-use of the property was the loss of the trolley barn. That is probably the saddest part of the brownfield clean-up. I actually carry that loss with me as a reminder of what can be lost as a result of irresponsible handling of toxic chemicals. We've learned much since those early days...Maybe.

Walgreens , the second in Kingston, will be paying taxes; thats a good thing. They will be offering jobs too. Not the highest paying jobs, but with Burgerking on the same corner, it fits well with the Broadway payscale. I'm expecting the proximity of the pharmacy and grocery to help locals with limited mobility.

As I did with some other construction sites in the city, I'll post pictures of the progress here to show those of you who don't get around Kingston much.

EARTH MOVERS AROUND TOWN

This seems to be the summer for large excavation equipment in our city.
Most of which had been approved by the Council and Planning Board.
All of it exciting to witness.

I took some pictures of specific locations where commercial development is happening.

The corner of Broadway and E Chester has been a cause for unrest for many people in the Ward Nine area, because the project required the removal of the Trolley Barn and the Walgreens that is planned for the property will increase traffic. But, with soil samples complete, these large earth movers have cleared the way for the engineers.

At another corner, Foxhall and Hasbrouck, we see the machines scraping the soil off the rock ridge and the sidewalks being formed for the proposed Women’s Health Center behind Kingston Hospital.

The structure will incorporate some of the existing parking lot above, but the on-sight access connected to the Hospital is well worth those spaces lost. It will be interesting to see how a brick building right on the corner will affect the traffic patterns here, but we all overcome the changes brought about by progress.

The key thing here is, one of them will be a source of commecial tax revenue. In a big way. The other: a needed service that cannot be measured in dollars.