We have just reached a pivotal moment in the renaissance of the Kingston waterfront. And with very little public witness.
The City of Kingston's Planning Board, after 6 long years of give and take, public hearings, and protests from far away sources, has finally voted unanimously to accept the completed FGEIS for the Hudson Landing housing development along the shores of the Hudson River in Kingston.
With the intent to use a once industrial and current toxic wasteland for the construction of 1500 homes and retail units, Tom Perna and company initially offered a much different model for the river property.Hundreds of thousands of dollars and years later, the latest proposal offered to the Planning Board is a delight to see. As I prepare this posting, I am looking at the artist renditions of what we can expect from AVR. They are very different from those original penetentury style monsters we railed against in 2002.
So, the process worked. Public input and even the persistant roadblocks from heavily funded Not-for-profits that exist just for this purpose, caused AVR to reshape the depelopment to the welcomed neighbor we hope to see.The first shovel wont hit the ground for about a year. Plenty of paperwork to finalize, but I have to make it clear that I am really happy with the current plan and would like the members from the past opposition to now help to make Hudson Landing a reality.
Here are some artistic renderings from the revised plan.
