Gym and Credit Union to Occupy New Paltz Savings Bank

The New Paltz Savings Bank building, the empty storefront next to the Bicycle Depot on Main Street, will have two new occupants in 2025. 

The building, located on 27-29 Main St., was acquired in 2021 by Wells Fargo NP LLC, with primary John Joseph, the owner of Southern Realty & Development, “a commercial real estate ownership, development and management company.” Since that acquisition, the building has remained unoccupied, but that is set to change as the village has approved plans for both a gym and credit union to move into the property. 

According to Director of Planning, Zoning and Code Enforcement for the Village of New Paltz, Mike Baden, “the developer has ‘gutted’ the interior and is doing internal renovations” to prepare the site for the businesses. 

Two-thirds of the 8,500-square-foot building will be occupied by a branch of Anytime Fitness, an international chain of open-24-hour gyms. The gym will be in the western side of the building. The Hudson Valley Credit Union (HVCU) will open its 31st branch of the not-for-profit financial cooperative in the remaining space on the eastern side of the building. According to WPDH-FM, this interior space will have lobby services, including “personnel assisting with teller, account and insurance services,” as well as “mortgage loan officers, commercial relationship managers and HVCU wealth management consultants.” The drive-thru on the western side of the building will not be operational, although the ATM will. WPDH-FM states that the branch of the credit union will move into the property in 2025.  

An additional change will be made to the property that hosts In Good Taste, a wine and spirit store. The store is also located on 27 Main St., at the far end of the parking lot behind the New Paltz Savings Bank building. Both buildings and the parking lot between them are considered part of the same parcel. Baden states that the building hosting In Good Taste “will be getting two apartments.”

There will also be renovations to the parking lots around 27-29 Main St. to help it accommodate the additional business. However, there will be no change in the total number of parking spaces. “There is no new net parking. It will be slightly rearranged,” Baden said. This rearrangement will include the replacement of the grassy area to the east of the building with additional parking spaces, along with the replacement of six parking spaces across the street with a “green space,” Baden said. In addition to this, the area landscaped by the drive-thru will be further developed, and a bench will be added.  

These parking spaces will not be public parking. According to Baden, “they exist for the benefit of the businesses.” Baden stated that the landlord has indicated they will be attempting to restrict people from parking in spots reserved for their business. “His obligation is to provide adequate parking for his tenants,” Baden said.  

Residents who have grown accustomed to parking in the spaces behind the empty building with no hassle over the last few years may be shocked if the landlord decides to implement restrictions. “In general, it must be remembered the majority of these parking areas are private. I understand the public may desire them to be public, but they are not,” Baden said. However, Baden did state that enforcement of these restrictions by the business owner is generally difficult to do. 

In July, various members of the Village of New Paltz Planning Board spoke publicly to Hudson Valley One about the introduction of these businesses to the property and criticized the traffic study that Southern Realty & Development provided. Board members, including board chair Zach Bialecki, expressed concerns over the flow of traffic in the parking lot, the lack of green space and the additional street traffic around the already busy intersection at the east end of town near the building.  

Since then, adjustments have been made to alleviate these concerns. To address both the flow of traffic in the parking lot and on the street, Baden stated that “the applicant will make the travel of traffic into that part of the parking lot a one-way direction.” He continued, “the applicant will sign the property as one way from west to east. All traffic entering the part of the parking behind the old bank will now exit from the drive-thru area.” 

The properties that host the gas station and post office are not owned by the developer and therefore will not have to abide by these changes. Traffic to these businesses “still will have ability to exit” the plaza from either direction, and the developer has “no ability to resolve those issues,” Baden said.

Despite this, Baden believes that these changes “should help in alleviating some of the issues with traffic exiting so close to the light.” 

Although concerns over parking and traffic exist, many in the public are happy to have a HVCU moving into New Paltz. “Oh, I hope the credit union goes in there!!!” commented Barbara Ettell-Ambrose on a post discussing the building in the New Paltz Community Facebook group. Other residents expressed excitement that they will not have to travel to Highland, Kingston or Poughkeepsie, the three closest credit union locations, to do their banking.  

In 2021, HVCU purchased the former college diner on Route 299 and intended to open a branch at that location. However, plans fell through due to disputes over renovation restrictions such as the creation of a drive-thru. The property is currently up for sale. 

There is also excitement for the new gym. On that same Facebook post, Danielle Marie commented, “I love the idea of a gym by the rail trail!! Bike to the gym, lift some weights and bike home! I really hope this comes true sooner than later.” There are no Anytime Fitness locations near New Paltz, the closest being in Walden.  

All plans have been approved by the village and the timeline is exclusively at the discretion of the developer.