Shame on me for reporting this rather late, but in late January a meeting was conducted to discuss the streetscape design of Chambers Street between Broadway and 1st Street according to these renderings. According to the plans, the perimeter of the area targeted for revitalization is between Chambers and Dubois and Broadway and South Street. Improvements will be paid for through the City’s Federal Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding. These plans are meant to “leverage the work of city partners” like the Newburgh Community Land Bank. The land bank is already planning to raze two homes on Liberty Street and rebuild two new ones within 5 days. You can read more about that here.
There were 2 different concept plans that were presented. You can see the full details here. What do you think of the design? They want residential input. There is an online survey right here. Those bump-outs at the intersections are interesting. Any clue what purpose they will serve?
Soon these two houses on Chambers Street will go from looking like this to looking like this:
What do you think? These two homes will be torn down and replaced with two new homes in just 5 days. The families have already been selected. You can find out more information, like how to participate here. Habitats goal is to build another 50 houses in 5 years. So far, they have 7 houses under construction, 3 more in final planning stages, and 30 sites slated for future development. Their goal is to dedicate their 100th house by the end of 2016! It will be exciting to look back at the changes Newburgh has undergone in that time.
Remember a while back in a Heard Around Town post there were rumors of a Folk Music Hall of Fame coming to Liberty Street? Well the plans just got a little more serious with the creation of renderings from River Architects, the same architects who brought you the design of the Wherehouse Restaurant. What do you think of the design? For those of you who have expressed interest in more modern architecture in the city, this design sure is different than your average 1900’s building. However, it’s almost certain that this building falls inside the historic district so, it will be interesting to see how the final design falls through.
The ideas look promising with an exhibit space, performance space, museum store, recording booths, and cafe. Liberty Street has many pending projects that are waiting to see initiation. Needless to say, if all of these plans can become a reality, things could really change.
So what does the Folk Music Hall of Fame have to say about their plans? As far as the design of the building they say that “the innovative design is in keeping with similar projects around the world that incorporate as much of the original structure as possible while creating new and exciting functional spaces. The designing architectural firm River Architects will include the feedback from the ARC for the formal application.” And, if the orange exterior scares you, don’t be. According to archtiect James Hartford, “The orange in the image is not really supposed to be orange, but rather a natural wood color- but we had to jump up the contrast to make it stand out.”
They plan to induct their first members this winter in a concert series, and are currently accepting donations of musical instruments, artifacts, and monetary contributions. The FMHF plans to benefit the community by presenting concerts and educational programs for persons of all ages. And they will provide instruments on loan to underprivileged children. They feel that Community Development through the Arts is a major component of revitalizing The City of Newburgh.
We’ll keep watching so stay tuned on Facebook, Twitter, or by email updates. Click on any of the images to enlarge them.
The Newburgh Police and Fire Departments might make the empty lot on Broadway their headquarters. Previous plans were to build a supermarket and office space in the lot. To read more details, check out the THR article.
The work at 11 Henry is moving right along. Already there is a huge difference than what it looked like a few months ago. Check out the rendering to see what the final product will eventually look like. Neighbors say a lot of work has been happening and it shows. There is probably a lot being done to the interior, but as far as what we can see has been done to the exterior, paint has been removed, the porch is being redone, windows have been replaced as well as the bay window being restored, and the cornice is already seeing some paint. Can’t wait to see how the rest turns out!
Remember these waterfront condos on Colden Street? Things have been quiet for a while, but it looks like things are picking up again. The condos at 15 S. Colden have been put on the market. Maybe the developer is trying to sell condos to help fund the project? They are listed at $360,000.
The plan back as of November 2010 was to have 30 condominiums at this site. If this project can actually come to fruition, this will be a huge boost to the Washington Heights area and Liberty Street. Just down the street the Newburgh Brewery is going to start construction soon, and are projected to open at the end of the year.
