The funeral home and apartment building at 13 Chambers Street will soon be home to the Newburgh Land Bank according to a recent THR article. It seems like the commercial space in the front will become the office space, and there are plans for apartments above. There are some excellent guides and websites on the internet if you would like to learn more about what a lank bank does.
This block of Chambers Street between Broadway and First Street has a lot of potential. There are quite a few projects brewing here. It would be an excellent location to rehab some of the many buildings that have been left in disrepair.
For those of you interested in the aesthetic of the proposed building at the Mid-Broadway Lot, you should attend tonight’s Architectural Review Commission (ARC) meeting. It will be held at the Activity Center, 401 Washington St at 7:30 pm. For those of you that have concerns with such as parking and traffic, you should attend the Planning Board meeting.
For now, the ARC would like to hear comments regarding the look and design of the building. What do you think?
Birds eye view
Johnston St Elevation
Lander St Elevation
5th Floor Layout
Ground floor layout
Also up for review at tonight’s meeting, 34 and 36 E. Parmenter.
Zoning and land use laws are extremely important elements of the development of a city. Zoning divides the community into commercial, residential, and industrial districts. The Greater Newburgh Partnership (GNP) is setting the goal to rewrite the zoning codes of Newburgh in order to attract businesses into the City, and to take advantage of all of the amazing gateway real estate that exists on the waterfront and Broadway.
Rezoning would allow the repurposing of existing buildings. This is often seen in NYC where industrial warehouses become zoned for residential loft units. Or an industrial building being zoned for shopping space. If developers or businesses have to go through a lengthy process to a receive zone variance, it will stop them from coming to Newburgh and send them to other cities. Currently, in Beacon there is at 6 month wait time.
This project will be divided into 3 phases:
The Leadership Team and Advisory Task Force (selected by city staff) sets the stage for strong community engagement and review of existing City documents that will provide perspective on the existing code
The nuts and bolts of the project; digging into the code with actual rewrite through conversation and engagement of the Leadership Team/ Advisory Task Force and their constituencies. It is necessary for each member of the Leadership Team/Advisory Task Force to involve members of their respective organizations to provide input and guidance.
Public presentation and feedback that will result in the adoption of the new Zoning by the City Council.
What are your opinions about Newburgh’s current zoning codes?
The folks over at Atlas Industries are coming along with in their project of making their building a functioning place. This will be the entryway on Spring Street. They already have come so far. It’s great to see the are still going full steam ahead.
Here is an update regarding the long awaited Tyrone Crabb Park from the Newburgh Historical Society:
On Friday afternoon City of Newburgh dignitaries past and present gathered at the corner of South Street and Grand Avenue to break ground for the long anticipated Tyrone Crabb Park.
Tyrone Crabb was a long time city resident who worked hard to improve the condition of the city and its people for many years. He served as a teacher in the Newburgh school system, a counselor in the Orange County Mental Health Department. He served as a commissioner of the Newburgh Housing Authority, eventually assuming chairmanship of that important board. He also served on the Newburgh City Council and in 1999 was elected Mayor of the City of Newburgh. Unfortunately Tyrone Crabb died just days before taking office. This park has been dedicated in his memory for all the fine work he did to improve the quality of life for all people living in this historic city.
The ceremony was hosted by Newburgh Mayor Judy Kennedy and included many city dignitaries including former Mayor Mary Crabb, former Mayor Nick Valentine, former councilman Steve Rockafellow, former city manager Harold Porr and current city manager Richard Herbek.
Harold Porr, Newburgh city manager from 1992 to 2002 stated, “This location is the most appropriate place to recognize the community service of Tyrone Crabb. This is the heart of the city. The Palatines, Newburgh’s earliest European settlers, erected the first church in Newburgh just on the opposite side of this street. The history of Newburgh is represented in the historic Town Cemetery which is the resting place for many of Newburgh first builders and finest citizens. This new Tyrone Crabb Park is placed here in the heart of the city. How appropriate, as Tyrone Crabb always had the best interest of the city in his heart.”
This property at 51 William Street went before the Architecture Review Commission in January. This is an exciting development for the William Street area as many buildings are run down and in need of a lot of attention. William Street used to be a bustling commercial area filled with stores. This street is particularly attractive because of the brick paved street and stone sidewalks that have been around for decades.
Take a look at the rendering below and you will see that a proper commercial storefront will be reconstructed, goose neck lighting will be installed and a new painted façade. This could make huge changes for this corner which is located next to the school. William Street could be the next downtown area on the verge of a come back if more properties are rehabbed. Imagine walking from Broadway to Renwick with quaint stores, restaurants and cafes. It existed once, hopefully Newburgh can get her groove back. There are plenty of opportunities on William Street for anyone wanting to further Newburgh’s revitalization. Stay tuned, we will be watching this property to show you the before and after.
