New Apartment Complex Proposed on North Chestnut Street

An additional apartment complex could be coming to the northwestern end of New Paltz, as plans for a 128-unit building on North Chestnut Street were discussed by New Paltz residents and village officials in a public hearing on April 1.

The proposed plans, submitted by applicant Westview Dev LLC are for a three-story, mixed use commercial and residential apartment complex. The development would be built on the lots of  147-149 N. Chestnut St. and 151 N. Chestnut St., consolidating them into a singular 4.74-acre lot upon which the new building can be built. 

Like other projects approved on North Chestnut Street, such as Zero Place, the first floor of the building would have 7,400 square feet of commercial space, and the upper two floors containing a combined 124 apartment units. According to plans submitted by the applicant on March 17, the units will be studio; 72 will be one-bedroom and 33 will be two-bedroom apartments. According to Village Director of Planning, Zoning and Code Enforcement Mike Baden, 20 of those units will be designated as affordable. The breakdown of what type of apartment those units will be has yet to be determined by the planning board. 

Plans for the project show it to have a nearly flat front that faces the road, with a wing on either side that extends back and out towards the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail, creating a widening, landscaped courtyard. According to the project’s architect David Burke, this courtyard can serve as an amenity to people living in the building and will connect the project to the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail.  

Burke also stated that the front of the building was designed to be pedestrian-friendly. According to renderings provided by the applicant, the building sits slightly back from the road compared to other projects. Burke stated that this could be used as a recreational space for both tenants and residents. “We wanted to make the area a public destination rather than just being a pedestrian highway that runs straight by,” he said. 

In addition to the building, the plans call for the construction of 146 on-site parking spaces, 11 on-street spaces and land reserved for an additional 11 spaces if the need for parking increases. There is also an allocation along the street for a future bike lane. 

“This project, just within its property line, is furthering a multi-modal environment,” said project engineer Frank Filliciotto. 

At the hearing, members of the public expressed their opinions on the project to both the applicant and the planning board. Public hearings are required by law for new local laws and major development projects, and provide the public with an opportunity to bring their concerns to those designing and approving the project.  

Residents criticized the increasing amount of development in New Paltz, while others made remarks about traffic, parking and the appearance of the building.

One resident, Jason Taylor, stated that he wanted to see a greater mix of the types of housing offered in the project. 

Under the current plan, the vast majority of apartments cater to individuals living alone. Taylor said that current apartment type breakdown does little to aid the issue of housing affordability in New Paltz. “I think the idea of building, increasing density and solving the housing shortage with these kinds of buildings, I’m in favor of that and in favor of this project in general,” Taylor said, though he criticized the breakdown of the different types of apartments offered. “If you want to make this something that can accommodate families in the area, to address what we all agree is a housing shortage, then [the shortage of two bedrooms is] something to address.” 

Town of New Paltz Deputy Supervisor Kitty Brown also raised similar concerns. “I would like to see some three bedroom apartments,” she said. “People just can’t raise a family here anymore, and the emphasis on studios and one-bedrooms is, in a sense kind of discriminatory.”

Following the public hearing, representatives from the developer expressed a willingness to look at a broader range of unit housing for the building.  

This proposal follows the approval of a smaller apartment complex at 145 N. Chestnut St. This project, known as the Baxter project, is currently under construction. 

When completed, the building, which is also mixed-used, will contain 7,500 square feet of commercial space on the first floor and 68 apartment units on the upper two floors. 

If the proposed project is approved, it will share a driveway with the Baxter project and occupy the land between the Baxter building on its southern side and the BOCES building on its northern side. If both projects are built as currently planned, the two buildings will add an additional 196 apartment units to New Paltz.

A few weeks prior to the public hearing, it was announced that Zero Place, the award-winning apartment complex located at 87-91 N. Chestnut St., will be converting its apartment units into condominiums that will be available for purchase. The apartment building, which opened its doors in 2022, has 25 apartment units, five of which are designated as affordable housing.  

According to New Paltz Village Board of Trustee Stana Weisburd, tenants of these affordable units will have the option to either continue renting their apartment unit at the current affordable rate, or to purchase it as a condominium at a reduced price, as long they continue to qualify for affordable housing. Those tenants will not have to purchase the condominium if they wish to continue renting, and future tenants will also have the option of either renting at an affordable rate or purchasing it as a condominium at a reduced price. 

Since Zero Place is privately owned, the conversion of the building’s apartment units into condominiums requires no approval from the village government. According to the Village of New Paltz Affordable Housing Law, the developer must still abide by village affordable housing law, which mandates that developers designate at least 10% of a building’s units as affordable housing for perpetuity. “The units cannot be removed from the affordable housing law. Period,” stated Weisburd in a Facebook comment. 

The public hearing for the Westview Development project is still underway and will be open until the conclusion of the planning board meeting on April 15. Residents can watch past public hearings on the Village of New Paltz YouTube Channel under the Livestream tab. Comments can be submitted to the village by emailing planningzoning@villageofnewpaltz.org.