Midtown to the Hudson: Making the Connection

  |  March 4, 2015
City Hall

It is really coming together in Kingston, and from Midtown to the Waterfront, a new and promising link is forming as we speak. To recap, the city put out a request for proposals from design and engineering firms for a plan to transform the streetscape from Cornell Street, where the Lace Mill and Shirt Factory are located in Midtown, to the Rondout Creek, and further along to the Hudson River, at the proposed trailhead for the Promenade at Hudson Landing.

After a several-week-long procurement process, multiple interviews, and plenty of discussion, a steering committee of reps from every corner of Kingston, including the Ulster County Board of Realtors and Kingston Land Trust, settled on the team for the job, and we will be moving to get the design process underway by spring.

It was a very tough decision to make given the interest in this project, nevertheless, we are pleased to announce that Saratoga Associates will be coming on as the project’s lead architectural firm, along with KC Engineering and Hone Strategic as partners.

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A simulation of the plan for Kingston’s waterfront by Saratoga Associates. Photo source: http://www.saratogaassociates.com

Saratoga Associates is a multi-disciplinary professional firm with four decades of experience in providing landscape, architectural, planning, and engineering services throughout the Northeast. Saratoga’s principles – creating compelling destinations, enriching communities, and safeguarding special places – fit nicely with the values driving Kingston’s own revitalization efforts.

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KC’s Project Manager, Nancy Clark, PE, is an active participant in the planning and preparation activities for the Kingston Point Rail Trail. Photo source: www.kingstonlandtrust.org

KC Engineering and Land Surveying, a certified Disadvantaged and Minority Business Enterprise (D/MBE), will assist the team with land surveying, civil engineering, and regulatory compliance services. KC’s Project Manager, Nancy Clark, PE, is an Ulster County resident and active participant in the planning and preparation activities for the Kingston Point Rail Trail. Nancy is known to many in the Kingston area for her involvement as past-president of the Kingston Sunrise Rotary Club.

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Jennifer Schwartz Berky worked with the Petra National Park in Jordan on site planning and stakeholder engagement. Photo source: http://www.honestrategic.com

Hone Strategic, LLC, a local business based in Kingston’s historic Rondout District, specializes in urban planning, adaptive reuse, and the facilitation of community outreach and participation. Hone will act as the team’s liaison with city officials and community stakeholders, in addition to providing valuable insight into the integration of the city’s existing plans in connection with the project. Hone’s principal, Jennifer Schwartz Berky, has led teams in all phases of development, including strategic planning, design, construction, implementation, and management.

We are looking forward to a very active year with multiple opportunities for the community to be involved in helping to shape this project. It promises to be a real catalyst for stimulating new interest and investment in Kingston for years after our team has completed this exciting streetside transformation.

About Gregg Swanzey

Gregg Swanzey, a longtime advocate for the Hudson River and the Mid-Hudson Region, first moved to the Rondout neighborhood in Kingston with his family in 1986 fresh off several years as Captain of the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater. Since then, he has crossed the Atlantic three times, served as Executive Director for a gubernatorially appointed Commission in Massachusetts, and traveled to far-flung places such as St. Petersburg, Russia; Reykjavik, Iceland; and the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. After four years in City Hall as Director of Economic Development and Strategic Partnerships for the City of Kingston, he has recently come aboard as Executive Director for the Winnakee Land Trust based in Rhinebeck in Northern Dutchess County. On any given day you might see him out jogging on one of several rail trails that converge in Kingston, kayaking the Hudson over to Rhinecliff, biking Uptown to the Farmer’s Market, climbing to the top of Burger Hill in Winnakee's Drayton Grant Park, or hanging out at home in a classic 1920's Dutch Colonial overlooking the Hudson with his wife, Emma. His two daughters live and work in New York City but are regularly up the River for the weekend.

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