$52 million project will include retail, restaurant, living space, hotel
and an answer to much-needed parking in Uptown Kingston
KINGSTON, N.Y. (OCTOBER 23, 2018) — JM Development Group LLC, in partnership with the Herzog Supply Co. and the City of Kingston, is planning to build a $52 million mixed-use development project that will address the dire need for public parking in the Historic Stockade District in Uptown Kingston and create an anchor for the heart of the area.
The Kingstonian development will be sited on a 2.5-acre parcel of under-utilized land on the corner of Fair and North Front Streets, JM Development Group’s Joseph Bonura Jr. told an audience during an informational meeting to the community today at the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Community Center in Kingston.
For more than a decade, the City of Kingston has been seeking a developer for the city-owned property. The site included an old three-story parking garage at 21 North Front Street, but has remained vacant after it was demolished due to structural issues. The City of Kingston issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) in 2008, 2013 and in 2016. The 2016 RFQ required that any development at the site include at least 200 public parking spots to address the severe shortage of parking in the Uptown area.
The development addresses the public parking issue, which has emerged as an impediment to the Uptown area’s development, with a 420-space parking structure that includes 250 spaces devoted to the public.
The City has been seeking a vibrant mixed-use development that will create a sense of place for the community, blend cohesively with the adjacent Historic Stockade District and enhance the viability of the area. The development will tie together disparate parts of the neighborhood with a publicly accessible, open-air pedestrian plaza and create a community hub that will attract visitors and residents alike.
The Kingstonian will bring together retail and restaurant space, living space and a hotel. The development will include 8,000 square feet of commercial space that will become a mix of up to two restaurants, small retail shops and, perhaps, a bank tenant along North Front Street and the new pedestrian plaza. It will include 129 market-rate residential rental units.
The original Kingstonian Hotel building, which is now a Herzog Supply warehouse, will be reconstructed as a new 32-room boutique hotel to maintain the historic character of the site.
Linking the public and private partnership, an Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant walking bridge will extend to Kingston Plaza over Schwenk Drive, safely connecting pedestrian traffic between the Historic District and the other side of Schwenk Drive.
JM Development Group is made up of partners and brothers Joseph Bonura and Michael Bonura, who also own Bonura Hospitality Group, as well as Patrick Page of Patrick Page Properties in Newburgh. The group is partnering on the project with Kingston-based Herzog Supply, which has served Kingston for more than 100 years and owns the parcel of land that was the former Kingstonian and is now a warehouse. The City of Kingston owns the parcel of land that formerly held a three-story city parking garage at 21 North Front Street. This parcel will be sold to the developers.
“We are very proud to informally present this development to the residents of Kingston,” said Joseph Bonura. “We believe the Kingstonian will be the perfect complement to Uptown. This development will create much-needed parking and market-rate homes. Adding these necessary components will allow more people to easily visit restaurants and retail shops, creating more vibrancy in this district.”
“The City of Kingston has been seeking the right partner to work with on the development of this property for years,” Mayor Steve Noble said. “This unique collaboration will address our need for additional parking infrastructure, while also bringing to life two underutilized parcels in the heart of our Stockade District.”
“I am honored to be involved in such a worthwhile project that will create a community centerpiece in the Stockade District,” said Bradley Jordan, President of Herzog Supply. “Uptown will see an economic boom with the addition more than 250 residents and hotel guests who will be active consumers in this area, ensuring the economic vitality of Ulster County’s most important commercial base.”
The development group has engaged local engineer Dennis Larios of Brinnier & Larios PC for land surveying and civil engineering services as well as local attorneys Robert Cook and Michael Moriello to assist in project approvals and to address community concerns.
The $52 million project will be funded through private investment, $46 million; Downtown Reinvestment Initiative funding: $3.8 million; Empire State Development Grant funding: $2 million; and Restore New York funding: $1 million.
The project was one of six priority projects to receive funding in Kingston through Governor Cuomo’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative.
“As a priority project of the DRI, The Kingstonian will fill a critical gap in infrastructure and create a transformative venture that is set to spur further economic development and community revitalization in the City of Kingston.” Mayor Noble said. “I appreciate New York State’s support of this multi-faceted project, which I am confident will greatly benefit our entire city.”
Video: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/mmy4z23y8xecxe9/AACfv-R76zY6uTxGPxbJKb4Ya?dl=0
About the Developers
JM Development Group is made up of partners and brothers Joseph Bonura and Michael Bonura, who also own Bonura Hospitality Group, as well as Patrick Page of Patrick Page Properties in Newburgh. Joseph and Michael Bonura of the Bonura Hospitality Group have served the Hudson Valley for more than three decades, bringing millions of dollars of economic investment into Dutchess and Orange Counties. Beginning with Anthony’s Pier 9 in New Windsor in 1980, the Bonuras have developed some of the Hudson Valley’s premier venues on either side of the river (The Grandview, The Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel, West Hills Country Club, Shadows on the Hudson, the Water Club). Patrick Page of Patrick Page Properties, a privately owned real estate development company with headquarters in Newburgh and serving the Hudson Valley. Page is a lifelong resident of the Hudson Valley. He began his career in the family business, H.G. Page & Sons, and later went on to work for his father’s company, John Page Development. In 1997, Page opened the Storage Stop, which later evolved into Patrick Page Properties. Page currently serves as a founding member of the board of Page Brothers Enterprises.
Kingston-based Herzog Supply Co. Inc. has served Kingston for more than 100 years. The Herzog and Jordan families have held true to a time-honored tradition of customer and community service for more than four generations. Herzog Principals Bradley and Todd Jordan will work with the Bonuras and the City of Kingston to implement the project. Herzog Supply Co. consists of Herzog’s Home Center in Kingston, a full-service home center and lumber yard; Herzog Paint & Decorating with two stores in the Albany market and two stores in the Poughkeepsie/Fishkill market. The company also owns Kingston Plaza, a 310,000 square-foot retail shopping center adjacent to the development site with 34 stores.
