(Photo by Lauren Thomas)
The iconic red barn on Butterville Road in New Paltz, once owned by Julian Studley, will soon be coming down, according to Peter Karis, an engineer at the Open Space Institute, owner of the property. In a letter to neighbors, Karis advised, “We anticipate removal of the existing barn will begin shortly and will take up to two weeks to complete. . . . In the coming weeks, work associated with the new residential building will proceed including the rough grading of the location, construction of the new concrete foundation, and installation of underground site utilities, all of which should be completed this spring. Work on the new structure itself is expected to continue through the rest of the calendar year with our goal being to occupy the new residence by early 2017.”
A rendering of the new red barn on Butterville Road in New Paltz.
Engineers who looked at the structure determined that trying to restore it to a usable condition would be too costly, and simply allowing it to collapse would create safety issues. Neighbors have voiced skepticism, with some suggesting that money spent on controversial fencing of OSI property last fall might have instead been used to restore the well-known barn. In his letter, Karis wrote, “Recognizing the rich agricultural heritage of this landscape, we have been deliberate to take architectural cues from the existing barn including such details as red stained wood siding, a standing seam metal roof and a cupola. The residence will have a lower profile than the existing barn on the property, expanding views to the Ridge from Butterville Road, and once the landscaping is complete will be in keeping with the scenic tradition of this landscape.”
Residents were also encouraged to stay clear of the property, which will soon be an active construction area.
I think that it’s a horrible idea. They promised Julian Studley that they would Not take it down. They just want to put up another structure to store equipment. They should buy land somewhere else. They have the money. First the tacky fences, and now this…very disappointing.
I know many, many friends who have restored their old barns – and they were in epically worse shape than this barn. Why the rush to knock it down. There should or could have been a crowdsourced $ campaign to get anyone and everyone in the region to donate small sums to equate the cost of making the needed structural repairs to save the barn AND then the open space group could ALSO have built their new building. This is a shame. Any chance to change the course?
These people from osi are bullies,they don’t care about the history of the barn. The barn is in great condition, it’s a shame that no one stood up and voiced their opinions. The staff from osi could have built another stucture somewhere else, they have tons of money.
So sad to see that the Studley Barn is no longer there. Looks like the group from the city got their way once again.
what did they do with the wood beams and siding etc….
They completely destroyed the barn,nothing is left. There’s stories going around that they gave the siding to someone on Huguenot street. A new building will be going up,it’s going to be tacky just like the fencing along rt.299 and Butterville Rd. I heard that they might bring in cows too. If these people (osi) really want cows,how about they put them on their own property for ex: their homes
How about a community fallout shelter?! With a cupola, of course, just for the architectural lulz.
I am so fed up with osi, they are a bunch of liars, who only do what they want. They are ruining New Paltz. Now they want to put mor cows on Butterville rd, we don’t need that! If they want cows, they can put them at their homes.