|
Dover Project in Limbo as Town, Builder Trade Barbs
08.08.2007
Larry Hertz
Poughkeepsie Journal
WINGDALE - Acrimonious press releases and blindsiding moves by the Dover town board and developers of the Dover Knolls project have left the future of the proposed massive residential and commercial center in doubt.
Both sides blamed the other on Tuesday for taking significant actions without informing the other party, costing time and money in the effort to redevelop the former Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center. The end result was a decision by officials of Benjamin Companies to withdraw their plans to build homes, stores, offices and recreational facilities on the 800-acre site.
At a press conference on the site Tuesday morning, officials of Benjamin Companies said they planned to "mothball" the buildings and grounds and suspend work on the Dover Knolls project indefinitely until they believe they can work with town officials to develop the property.
"We are convinced the current town board is either unwilling or incapable of moving this project forward," said Denise Coyle, general counsel for Benjamin Companies.
Coyle said the firm had no plans to sell the property, purchased from the state in October 2003 for $3.95 million.
On Tuesday afternoon, town Supervisor Jill Way and her members on the all-Republican town board issued a statement criticizing the developers for failing to notify the town of their decision to halt the project.
In the statement, Way said the board had asked Benjamin Companies officials to join the town in applying for a state grant to hire a firm that had collaborated in the past with the developers' new consultant, Torti Gallas.
"Based on our perception that the developer wanted to collaborate ... we approved consulting services for development of a consensus plan to help us resolve our differences. ..." Way said in the statement. "Again we failed to receive a response from the developer until today, through a vitriolic and discourteous correspondence, that they have withdrawn their application. The residents of Dover deserve better than this."
The original proposal from Benjamin Companies called for 1,400 housing units spread throughout the property as well as undetermined number of retail stores, offices and other commercial and recreational development. Late last year, negotiations with the town board yielded a new plan that featured a majority of housing clustered around the Metro-North Railroad station as well as the commercial and recreational facilities on various locations throughout the site.
Michael D. Zarin, a White Plains attorney representing Benjamin Companies, said the firm believed progress was being made on the project last winter after the new urban planner, Torti Gallas, reworked the original plans for the project.
Roger Akelev, Dutchess County's planning commissioner, said he had attended the Dec. 16 meeting, at which Benjamin Companies' original proposal was modified. He said he too believed the project was "ready to go forward through the environmental review process."
But Zarin said town officials continued to balk at the new plan. He said "the last straw" came July 25 when the town board voted to hire a third planning consultant for the project. The attorney said the developers were never advised of the town board's plans to hire the new consultant.
"At that point, the message was clear to us that the town board did not want this project to go forward," he said.
The developers were joined at the press conference by members of a group called Citizens for a Better Dover, which has collected more than 700 signatures on a petition calling for the town to move forward on the project.
Town resident Edie Flood said she hoped her group could convince the current town board - or a future town board - to re-engage in negotiations with Benjamin Companies so the project could be built.
"Citizens for a Better Dover wants to be pro-active in getting the developers and the town board to reach an agreement," Flood said at the press conference.
She said the group planned to host a public forum at a local restaurant in the next month to discuss the impasse between the developers and the town.
Flood said the crux of the disagreement appeared to center on town officials' desire to see more commercial property built in the early stages of the project. the developers contend they need to build some of the residential properties first so there is a sufficient market for the commercial properties.
Flood said she agreed with the developers: "For the stores to be successful, you need people first."
Advised of the developers' decision to halt the project, Akeley said he was "puzzled" by the town's decision to hire a third planning consultant.
"A third planner is one planner too many," he said.
Akeley said county planning officials had been unhappy with Benjamin Companies' first proposal for the property but were generally pleased with the modifications discussed at the Dec. 16 meeting.
"The mood after that meeting was one you associate with a breakthrough," he said. "I find it surprising that seven months later, we've gone backwards instead of forwards."
Town of Dover Democrats said they planned to make the impasse an issue in this fall's town board elections.
Ryan Courtien, the Democratic candidate for town supervisor, called the suspension of the Dover Knolls project "a disaster which is purely man-made, and the responsibility clearly lies with Jill Way and the Republican town board."
Elisa Sumner, chairman of the Dover Democratic Committee, said Dover Knolls "has the potential to bring jobs, build community, expand the tax base and turn an eyesore into an attractive place to live and work."
In her prepared statement, Way said "whether or not the developers try to sway .... public opinion or try to intimidate or discredit elected officials, the residents of Dover deserve the balance for which we are striving."
» Back to Top | Back to List
|
