The city has chosen a consultant to update a 1992 plan for Kingston’s waterfront. The move comes as a swath of Rondout waterfront parcels owned by the late Robert Iannucci have begun to attract interest from developers.

The Local Waterfront Redevelopment Plan (LWRP) was adopted by the Kingston Common Council back in 1992. At the time, the city’s Hudson River and Rondout waterfronts were a jumble of abandoned industrial infrastructure, junkyards and contaminated brownfields. The LWRP was intended to guide the transition from a post-industrial waterfront to one centered on tourism and recreation as the city sought to regrow its tax base following the departure of manufacturing businesses from Kingston in the mid- and late 20th century.

Today, much of that original vision has been achieved. Old oil tanks and incinerator chimneys have been replaced by luxury campgrounds, marinas and waterfront dining. Now, the city is working on an updated version to build on past accomplishments and set new goals. To help, the city turned to Rochester-based consultant LaBella Associates. The company is expected to build a multidisciplinary team to study and make recommendations for future development, working in conjunction with city officials and an appointed Waterfront Advisory Committee.

Among the goals of the new planning effort are incorporating environmentally friendly sustainable development principles and addressing the city’s often-overlooked Esopus Creek waterfront. The planning effort is expected to take five years and is funded with a $167,000 grant from the New York Department of State.

“Kingston is fortunate to have frontage on three waterbodies, and these are important assets where development can occur,” said City Planner Suzanne Cahill. “This document will form a unified vision and implementation framework for development along our valuable waterfront resources.”

The updated LWRP is part of a larger effort in Downtown Kingston that will incorporate funding from the largest grant in city history, a $21 million award through the Biden-era Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity program. The grant is intended to support “connectivity” projects including further development of the city’s rail trail network, rebuilding streets to be safer for pedestrians and cyclists and making improvements to T.R. Gallo Park and other waterfront amenities.

“Our current LWRP hasn’t been updated in 34 years, and we know there’s endless potential in this area, which is ripe for revitalization,” said Noble. “With major multimillion-dollar investments from the federal and state governments funding large-scale projects, the waterfront is getting its well-deserved renaissance.”

The planning project comes as a large stretch of waterfront owned by Iannucci appears to be coming onto the market for the first time in two decades. In the early 2000s the Brooklyn-based developer who died in December at age 80, acquired 37 parcels totaling about 100 acres including the 18-acre manmade “Island Dock” property in the middle of the creek. Over the years, Iannucci cleared vacant junkyards and other industrial detritus from his properties. But none of his proposed residential or mixed-use projects came to fruition. Instead, the waterfront properties were used as Iannucci’s residence and storage for his collection of WWII-era PT boats.

Last week, Kingston Wire reported that the Department of Homeland Security had conducted an environmental review at the Island Dock property as part of a plan to relocate a Coast Guard base from Saugerties. Iannucci friend and associate Dan Ahouse also confirmed that discussions were ongoing with both the Coast Guard and other entities interested in developing the waterfront parcels.