A proposal to build housing in a prominent location in Kingston's historic Rondout neighborhood has been under review at the city's Historic Landmarks Preservation Commission. And predictably – given the Rondout's disastrous experience with developments past – area residents and preservationists have cast a wary eye on the proposal.

As described to the commission in a draft version site plan, the project would occupy roughly three-quarters of a city block at the intersection of Spring and Wurts streets, formerly the site of the mansion of 19th shipping magnate Thomas Cornell, from whom the adjoining park takes its name.

In a Sept. 3 note to the commission from developer and Spring Corner LLC principal Jesse Halliburton, he wrote that the project would contain 47 units (five “affordable” and two “workforce”) and, in response to “feedback from neighbors” and “pending board approval,” a total of 32 parking spaces.

Regarding impact on Cornell Park, Halliburton wrote, “We are required as part of our approval to make a contribution of $108k to parks and recreation. We met with the mayor and discussed our plans so he knows what we were planning and he expressed he would be in support of this contribution going to Cornell Park and some needed care.”

“We have every intention of working with the Historical Committee to adhere to the Form Base Code,” Halliburton wrote. “We are presenting a plan of brick row houses inspired by neighboring buildings on Post, Wurts [and] Spring [streets] and beyond. They will have [different-colored] bricks, [different-colored] cornices and different window profiles.”

What's the problem – especially as the project's critics one and all expressed an understanding of the city's critical shortage of affordable housing?

“The Rondout's historic character does not come from brick and cornices alone,” one Rondout resident emailed the commission. “It comes from the rhythm of individual buildings, homes, storefronts, porches, stoops, yards, doors and entrances that create a human relationship between buildings and the street. Along much of this residential streetscape, those elements also create a transition between the

sidewalk and the buildings themselves. Here, the combination of an extremely long façade, minimal separation from the sidewalk and limited street entrances creates something very different … Changes in brick color or applied architectural details do not resolve that fundamental relationship between the building and the street.”

Rondout resident Des Salomone, an attorney and founder of Riva Law, put the matter in broader context. “To my mind, the issue of the proposed development represents a persistent issue for Kingston,” she emailed Kingston Wire. “Is a ‘Build, Baby, Build’ attitude good for our city? We face a dire housing crisis, but does a luxury development like this really address that issue? I would say it does not.”

Halliburton, in a phone interview, expressed sympathy with the critics' concerns, pointing to his outreach in meetings with area residents last Monday and in late August.

“I specifically reached out to the community and invited them to an open house that lasted three hours,” he said. “And the reason it lasted three hours was because I know people work, and I wanted to give everybody ample time to come and learn about the project and see what we were planning, and most importantly to get their feedback.”

“The feedback that I received was about the park,” continued. “There was a parking concern. There is a safety concern. There was an architectural detail on the Spring Street side that was a concern, and we were working to address all. We had originally had 25 spaces. We added seven – that gave us 32 spaces. Took another seven cars off the street to, you know, help address that concern.”

As an additional sweetener, Halliburton noted the project includes plans for a 400 square foot gallery dedicated to the showing of Rondout artists' work. He said the search for a curator is underway.

Kingston Wire asked Halliburton how he felt about getting into a project that was virtually certain to arouse opposition. Bottom line, he said, “I'm getting into building housing in a community that needs housing.”

Next step for the project, Halliburton said, is an Oct. 19 hearing before the city planning board.