Deals being worked out; builder wants approval extended
HYDE PARK, Jun 27, 2012 — The start of construction of an upscale hotel on Culinary Institute of America land may be delayed as the builder and Marriott International iron out agreements.
New Ventures of Hyde Park, the developer, recently notified Planning Board Chairman Michael Dupree it was seeking a one-year extension of its site plan approval. The extension would prevent the developer from having to reapply for site plan approval if construction does not start by Sept. 7 — one year from when the board issued the approval.
“Once you are approved, you have a year to start construction and two years to finish,” Dupree said.
Last September, the board approved construction of a 138-room hotel, conference center and restaurant on a wooded parcel north of the CIA campus. The culinary college is leasing the land for 49 years to the developer.
FAHS Construction of Binghamton is building the hotel. Richards Greco, senior project manager, notified Dupree by mail that the site plan extension was needed.
He said over the phone his firm and the hotel company need to complete their agreement before construction begins. Greco said he was seeking the site plan extension just in case construction does not start by Sept. 7.
“I’m asking for an extension in case I need it,” Greco said.
At the time of site plan approval, a Hyatt hotel was slated to be built. But Greco said Tuesday that a Marriott Renaissance, an “upscale, full-service” hotel, is 99.9 percent likely to be the brand.
Once construction starts on the $25 million project, it will take between 12 and 15 months to complete, Greco said.
Written by John Davis
Reprinted from the Poughkeepsie Journal online