PLANNERS CHECK OUT NEIGHBORHOOD CONCEPT - KINGSTON SEEKS IDEAS AT ORANGE SITE Author: Dan Shapley, Poughkeepsie Journal 04/04/2006 Email: villagelife@warwick-grove.com Website: http://www.warwick-grove.com Planners check out neighborhood concept Kingston seeks ideas at Orange site WARWICK, Orange County — It has the feel of a traditional village block, with stately homes set shoulder-to-shoulder, wide porches, a central meeting house and a post office. If not for the construction equipment and the skeletons of homes still being built, one could mistake it for an old neighborhood in this historic village. Warwick Grove is developer Leyland Alliance's showcase project, its model of "new urbanism." That theory of development emphasizes, as Warwick Mayor Michael Newhard put it, "neighborhoods, not subdivisions." Several volunteer planners from Kingston and the Town of Ulster toured the development Friday because they want to steal any good ideas they can. The tour was organized by Geddy Sveikauskas, publisher of Ulster Publishing, after speakers at public forums identified Warwick Grove as a model. 2 plans getting look Planners are considering two proposals that could bring 2,550 new housing units, and commercial space, to 600 acres of old industrial waterfront property. The projects could redefine Kingston, a sliver of the Town of Ulster and a swath of the Hudson River waterfront. The plans have prompted strong reactions, both celebratory and critical. A chief concern for planners is integrating the new houses into the city structure, so they don't feel like a separate suburb. "When you say, 'neo-traditional' nor 'new urbanist' it baffles me. You see something like this, I think it works," Kingston planning board Chairman Lee Molyneaux said. "I'm feeling guilty calling it a development. It's a community." Molyneaux said he would push the developers to explore new urbanist concepts as they draft alternative plans under the state Environmental Quality Review Act process. In Warwick, Leyland donated 90 acres to expand a village park and build a library. It is building 154 homes and 61 condominium/townhouse units on 40 adjacent acres. Condos start at $430,000 and the biggest homes have sold for more than $700,000. The homes are set on a tight street grid, with sidewalks, low curbs and several small parks. Strict architectural standards harken back to century-old styles. For consistency that isn't repetitive, no nearby houses can be painted the same color or built with the same exterior design. Only those 55 and over without school-age kids can live here, and there are no designated affordable units — making it a cash cow in terms of municipal taxes. One big question is how the visiting planners, who were clearly impressed, can translate the Warwick experience to Kingston. It took seven years and new zoning codes to approve Warwick Grove — and it was the developer's idea. Leyland Alliance Executive Vice President Louis Marquet studied new urbanist concepts for more than a decade,and said it takes specialized training to build a new urbanist community. It also requires a big up-front investment and a willingness to wait longer for the payoff. Plus the company had to "cast a broad net" to find contractors with the skills to build to its standards. His advice was to look at existing neighborhoods in Kingston as models. "Reference what you have," Marquet said. "Bring what you have down to the waterfront." Dan Shapley can be reached at dshapley@poughkeepsiejournal.com