by Poughkeepsie Journal Editorial Board (Poughkeepsie Journal Online)
The location is striking: Right across from the Culinary Institute of America and at the southern gateway to Hyde Park.
More than 300 acres on the east side of Route 9 have long been considered a prime place for a sizable development. But those plans were periodically dashed for one reason or another. At one point, Dutchess County was championing a “model development” for that land, one that would have a deep mix of uses — including hundreds of village apartments and a hotel and conference center.
Other ideas ran the gamut, to say the least. The New York Philharmonic was considering the site to build a summer home. Wal-Mart also had expressed interest. So did various supermarkets, but they wanted only part of the land that goes all the way along Route 9 from West Dorsey Lane to St. Andrew Road.
What finally has emerged is the “Bellefield at Historic Hyde Park,” a $500 million, phased-in project that, if done correctly, could tie nicely into the town’s potent tourism industry. To start, the developers will build a 133-room boutique hotel. When completed, the site will include two hotels, more than 550 residences, a market square with to-be-determined businesses and services, and a village green. Bellefield developers hope to make most of their proximity to the CIA, recognizing that the food and drink industry is intrinsically linked to tourism and seeing the potential for businesses there to tap into the area’s culinary workforce.
The phasing of this bears watching, but the new hotels in this area should be particularly beneficial to the Hyde Park area. Just north of this project, The Asahi Shuzo company is opening a sake brewery, tasting room and shop at the old Stop & Shop location. And Hyde Park already features plenty of other tourist destinations, including the CIA, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum and the Vanderbilt National Historic Site in Hyde Park.
“The goal is to bring more people in and build on this cluster of activity,” Thomas Mulroy, chief executive officer of T-Rex Capital Group and part of Bellefield Development Partners, told the Poughkeepsie Journal last week.
That is, indeed, an important goal, and one that ultimately will determine how successful this project is for the town. In particular, redeveloping the core commercial area just to the north on Route 9 must remain a high priority. Hyde Park has added sidewalks to this area, and town officials are looking to address a long-standing impediment: Bringing a commercial sewer system to the corridor. Bellefield will operate its own sewer system but, as part of its deal with Hyde Park, it will contribute $1.25 million toward the creation of one in the commercial district. The town has secured other funding, from the county and the state, but still has to raise millions of dollars more, depending on the size of the sewer district, and it will need other approvals.
The Bellefield project also will generate tax revenue for various levels of government, in addition to creating hundreds of construction and full-time jobs. Considering some of the suggestions that have been made for the site over the years, these latest plans appear viable and poised to get off to a swift start.
For more about the Bellefield plan, go to, https://bellefieldhydepark.com/
For more about Hyde Park’s downtown initiative, go to www.HPDowntown.com
Opinion Engagement Editor John Penney wrote this editorial on behalf of The Poughkeepsie Journal Editorial Board. Email him at jpenney@gannett.com; follow him on Twitter at @johnpenneynews
