Peekskill preview
City eyes nearby successes
By BRYAN F. YURCAN

 

In an effort to expand its tax base downtown, Peekskill is pursuing a variety of residential and commercial projects there and in other parts of the city.

Though she has only been in office a little more than two months, Mayor Mary Foster has had preliminary and more in depth conversations with developers and prospective building owners about a number of projects throughout the city.

“There are specific areas we are looking at,” she said.

One such area would be creating a “dining and entertainment” corridor downtown along Division Street. She said a restaurant/music venue near the Paramount Theater is planned for the same building as John Ford Piano, 1523 S. Division St. It would seat around 200 people and should be open by the end of this year, the mayor reported. She said the city has also been in talks with someone considering opening a wine and food bar downtown.

Additionally, a graphics production company has purchased a building in that area and moved in, and the city is in talks with art dealers and art galleries to come into Peekskill.

“The idea is to create little hotspots down there,” Foster said. “Bringing in arts, culture, and entertainment makes it more interesting for young people to live and work here.”

In general, the city is seeking to identify “vacant or underutilized land” downtown for projects, including market-rate housing and mixed-use buildings, such as those that would have artist lofts upstairs with retail stores on the ground level.

Peekskill is also looking at building a consolidated firehouse that would replace the city’s existing six smaller firehouses.

In keeping with the theme of using downtown land efficiently, Foster said the city is exploring the idea of having retail and office space adjacent to the new firehouse.

“We’re thinking about different ways of utilizing existing structures,” she said.

Foster and other city officials have studied downtown redevelopment projects that have occurred in similar Hudson River cities, such as Beacon and Poughkeepsie, in order to research ideas that work and don’t work.

“We have been talking to some different developers, to see what they think could work in different areas,” she said.

Even with an emphasis on bringing market-rate housing and arts and entertainment, Foster said Peekskill cannot lose its industrial and commercial base.

But rather than focusing on a more traditional industrial development, Foster said the city should pursue green industry and high-tech businesses.

Peekskill is still focused on bringing in a big-box retail store, such as Target, and a hotel to the southern portion of the city, near the Buchanan border, said Foster.

She said there have been ongoing talks about building a Holiday Inn Express in the city.

Foster said that would be important because there aren’t many lodging options in the area.

Foster noted the Hudson Valley Hospital Center is nearby, but “there’s really no place for visiting doctors, nurses, families to stay,” she said.

Foster also cited the importance of maintaining and improving land use on the Hudson River waterfront.

She said waterfront development was pivotal to the city’s plans and that her administration sought to “significantly improve the waterfront area.”

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