At their meeting on Thursday, Nov. 14, the Town of New Paltz Planning Board approved plans to remodel the McDonald’s building on Main Street.
These plans, by Core States Group consultant Alan Roscoe, come a year after the last set of proposed plans were not approved by the oard because they did not fit in with the historical aesthetic of the rest of the town.
During their April 8 meeting, Roscoe was told by Planning Board member Amy Cohen to “come back with something that’s just going to blend in.”
Since then, Roscoe worked with members of the board and the board’s architect, Kurt Sutherland, to make revisions to the plans.
Such revisions included changing the exterior color to a more toned-down light grey and toning down the brand wall, according to the Planning Board’s Sept. 9 meeting minutes.
Secretary for the Planning Board, Pat Akins, said “the Planning Board had the application for nearly a year and worked with the consultant from McDonald’s to get an agreeable final plan that fits into the character and aesthetics of the town and village.”
The new McDonald’s will not feature the red and yellow facade that the building currently has, and the classic “M” logo usually seen on a pole in front of the restaurant will be removed.
The only logos on the building will be the yellow arches “M” logo on the front of the building and the words “McDonald’s” in white on one side of the building.
The first McDonald’s restaurant opened in 1955 and their buildings have gone through many changes since. Most McDonald’s restaurants today feature a more contemporary appearence with subtle colors and only accents of the golden arches, while others have been renovated to resemble some of the original buildings.
According to a Hudson Valley One article, “Roscoe has said [this McDonald’s] will be unlike any in the northeastern United States.”
While town officials felt the McDonald’s exterior appearance was in desperate need of renovation, some residents did not feel the same way.
“I don’t understand why they’re changing it,” said Danielle Falley, a third-year public relations major. “The new plan looks too new and modern, and it looks like an industrial factory. It doesn’t fit the New Paltz vibe.”
The renovations are set to start in March or April 2020, and should take around 10 weeks to complete, depending on the site contractor.
Roscoe said the plan is to first keep the drive thru window open during interior remodelling when the dining room and counter are closed. The dining room and counter will then be open when the drive-through is closed during exterior remodelling.
