Another artist’s conception of the Cedar Street project.
They include Kitty McCullogh, who published an op-ed on KingstonCitizens.org that claimed RUPCO did not solicit community input and that the $20 million on the Lace Mill project could have been better invested in rehabbing existing housing.
In a post on the RUPCO site rebutting McCullogh’s piece, entitled “Why Affordable and Mixed Income Housing Makes Sense in Midtown,” O’Connor noted that the zoning change and permitting required by the city will involve numerous public meetings. He wrote that RUPCO has been committed to rehabbing existing houses, having administered $700,000 in federal funds that enabled nearly 30 first-time homebuyers to locate in Kingston, and he explained that IRS rules for the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, which was the major funding vehicle for the Lace Mill, requires investors to own the property for a minimum of 10 years, which makes sense only for large, single-entity development projects.
Speakers also voiced several suggestions and concerns. Willie Lennon, a resident of Franklin Street, said there needed to be more two-and three-bedroom apartments to better serve families. He also recommended allowing for ownership by the residents down the road and said the proposed public park located along Greenkill Avenue should be open 24/7 to the public.
Richard Frumess, president of R&F Handmade Paints and a member of the city’s Midtown Arts District committee, said he was concerned about gentrification and the possible pricing out of the existing community. The Cedar Street project “is a bulwark against that because it provides affordable housing, helping create unity.” He said it was important that over the long term RUPCO maintain ownership and the project not be “privatized and sold to the highest bidder.”
Planning Board member John Dwyer Jr., who conducted the meeting, said the board will be accepting comments for two weeks before voting to approve or decline the project. Dwyer said the board would also serve as lead agency for the environmental review of the project. A public meeting about the project will be held Wednesday, July 22, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Kingston Library, 55 Franklin St.
I can’t believe no one is asking questions about the cost of this, and other, RUPCO projects. The cost for the Lace Curtain project is something more than $350,000 per unit. That’s outrageous. And the cost for this project will be similar. Again, where is all of this money going? A private contractor could build the same thing for half the cost. RUPCO should be audited.
As a not-for-profit entity, RUPCO is audited every year. I don’t think that you understand that rehabilitating a building (Lace Mill Factory) that sat empty for many years cost money. Nothing is outrageous about this building project and the quality work that was done on the building. The fact that it got done is nothing short of a miracle in this town of naysayers! Kingston needs more miracles and the people here deserve more projects like this.
It is always those who have greater appreciation for the overall affect of something that are deemed “naysayers.”
I can’t believe that the formerly grass-roots, Black-community operated Ulster County Community Action, is now “a nonprofit that plans to open up an organic grocery and catering business.” What happened?
RUPCO seems somehow THE developer around there. I feel like the bottom dropped out of everything. You cannot compare an “artists live-work space,” to what is a “housing project.” It shouldn’t even be designed the way that is being proposed. If it is, it will be a “housing project,” not a place of life, energy, and sense of community. The design should be scrapped, and the intention needs to be examined. Of course the person interviewed was “blown away” by the Lace Mill project. Maybe they should switch buildings and have the Lace Mill serve low income people and the artists, known for their appreciation of run-down living, live at the new place. — UCCA – catering?
Have you visited other places that RUPCO has built and managed? Your depiction of artists is really off the mark. Do you know any?