Over the last few years, Midtown Kingston has become quite popular, with new restaurants and bars, a thriving arts and maker scene and new parks and street beautifications. I’ve had the pleasure of eating some great meals at places like Masa, fun times at West Kill, Tubby’s and the Standard and enjoyed walking my pups along the new Linear Park. And I’ve learned about many new maker-creator businesses opening up in the neighborhood. The promise of Midtown’s time in the sun seems to have arrived after many decades in the shadows of Kingston’s other neighborhoods. However, the rise of Midtown also extends to the rise in the price of housing and commercial space, increasing almost as rapidly as other Kingston neighborhoods and placing the neighborhood at a crossroads in its renewal.

Until the 1870s, Midtown was a mostly forested area between the Town of Kingston (Uptown) and the Rondout. It grew due to the building of the railroad through the area, the merger of Kingston’s neighborhoods in 1872 and the creation of a vibrant commercial district with Industrial Revolution-type buildings and warehouses. Its growth was fast as compared to Kingston’s other major areas.

But like the fate of the Rondout being tied to canals, Midtown’s was tied to railroads, which faded as car culture grew. Today, however, it’s becoming downright chic, popular especially with younger, hipster groups.

While plans for Midtown’s rejuvenation were in the making years ago, it has really come to life with a new vibrancy recently. Its arts district has grown into a constellation of maker-creator spaces and studios, many of which cater to New York City and national audiences. Local government has also invested heavily in the neighborhood’s infrastructure improvements, including new parks and streetscape enhancements. And the community has benefited significantly from the considerable attentions of private philanthropies, epitomized by the multi-million-dollar overhaul of Radio Kingston and the Taj Mahal of laundromats, the Broadway Bubble. All of this activity has gotten Midtown “on the map,” resulting in a rise in Airbnb activity and interest by tourists. It’s also increasingly receiving the attention of real estate buyers.

A new report came out by real estate website Redfin that shows the median home price in Ulster skyrocketed 25 percent in just the last 12 months, from $350,000 to $450,000. (For comparison, Dutchess and Orange counties only rose 9 percent). This is an astonishing figure, and one that should have everyone talking. This is on top of the rapid rise in home prices since before COVID. As home prices rise, the impact upon rental costs have risen in concert. Because so little new housing of any kind is being built locally, sights are increasingly set on Midtown by the real estate industry. A home with some recent renovations in Midtown is currently listed for $329,000, and last sold in 2018 for $75,000. Yes, your house is worth much more today than last year, but where are you going move if you sell it?

This rapid increase in housing, as well as commercial space, has set the stage for significant gentrification pressures. The subject of gentrification has been the subject of much social media anguish in Kingston for years, with vigorous discussions on how to best avoid it. But all the talk resulted in nothing. Now it’s here and the stage is set for large-scale displacement of locals and the artists who make it special, unless something is done immediately.

According to Midtown Business Association President Miles Cretien, there is growing attention being paid to Midtown by curious tourists. New, expensive bars and restaurants are opening which cater to a weekender and tourist clientele who are willing to splurge for expensive specialty cocktails, tapas and pricy consignments. UPAC visitors increasingly want to explore the neighborhood further afield, for food, drinks, shopping, and gallery hopping. And the first “Midtown Market” will be taking place on Aug. 3 on the Linear Park, sure to spur even more excitement about the rising neighborhood. And what we know about the current local hot real estate market is that tourism contributes to the rise in costs — visitors fall in love with Kingston’s charm and the county’s many delights, and then decide to buy a second home or make our area their new fulltime home, bringing their affluence into our community.

While the infusion of new wealth into our area is great on many levels, it comes with increasing concern for locals. Midtown’s a prime example of this process. So much attention has been shown to Midtown recently, but it’s being done at a time of rising interest in the overall area. With little housing inventory locally to purchase in places like Uptown or the Rondout, or Woodstock, Gardiner, New Paltz and Stone Ridge, home buyers increasingly turn their attention to neighborhoods that were historically overlooked, like Midtown. And with new rent control, landlords are selling houses with apartments so they can be converted into single-family homes where there is increasing demand. Midtown locals face immanent displacement if they can’t keep up with rising living expenses.

I don’t think there is a simple solution to protect local Midtown residents from the challenges of growing prosperity in the neighborhood. However, there are some things we can be doing to cushion the change. It’s quite clear to everyone now that building more housing is essential to take some of the pressure off real estate demand. Mayor Noble has recently proposed the construction of up to 1,000 new affordable housing units in the city, but this will take time and Kingston’s recent rent control measures make it harder to entice developers. Another thing that can be done is to ask our tourist officials to hold off for now on promoting the neighborhood as a destination so that the local population can have more time to prepare for change.

I am a firm believer in advancing more entrepreneurship opportunities to citizens, so people can realize their own dreams and build community-based wealth. Whether it’s retail, maker businesses, IT, services or green enterprises, local Midtown citizens should be afforded every opportunity to create their own wealth. The city and county and state government could establish a standing fund to assist more startups and offer business advisement services to the Midtown community to give locals more tools to create their own opportunities. Today’s “freelancer/gig” economy makes entrepreneurship easier than ever. The city could also assist with commercial space costs so that the arts and culture community may continue to thrive and not be pushed out. And while neighborhoods inevitably change and evolve, we should have a sense of obligation to help the generation currently living in the area to rise with the tide and take advantage of the change in creative and economic ways. As such, a concerted effort focused on business entrepreneurship would be empowering, and give local Midtown residents a fighting chance to withstand gentrification rather than being its victims.

Raleigh Green is a local business owner specializing in marketing communications consulting and services.