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Peekskill Waterfront Redevelopment Plan

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Peekskill Waterfront Redevelopment Plan PEEKSKILL WATERFRONT REDEVELOPMENT PLAN Peekskill, New Yark Preparedby: SasakiAssociates, Inc. December1989 PEEKSKILL WATERFRONT REDEVELOPMENT PLAN Peekskill, New York LAND USE PLAN Preparedby: SasakiAssociates, Inc. December1989 Table of Contents ~ INTRODUCTION Goalsand Objectives ExistingLand Use 2 Opportunitiesand Constraints 3 Land Use Plan 6 1 Peekskill Waterfront District/#8826 April 4, 1990 Page 1. INTRODUcnON This Land Use Plan is the result of a planning effort initiated b:1'the City of Peekskill in early1989. The purposeof the effort wasto developa masterplan for the Waterfront District whichwould form a framework for red(~velopmentof the waterfront area. New Zoning controlsand DesignGuidelines were written to foster the creation of a new neighborhoodthat would be responsiveto the visual characterand topographicalfeatures of the PeekskillWaterfroIrt. The City set up a Waterfront TaskForce made up of membersof the City Council, keyland ownersand otber local citizensto guide the planningprocess. Sasaki Associates,acting as lead planners/designersand Halcyon,Ltd.as market and financialconsultants, formed the consultantteam. After an initial goal-settingsession and site reconnaissance,a seriesof alternative approacheswere prepared that were basedupon a review of market conditionsfor a number of land use types. Feedbackfrom the Task Force and from Peekskill citizensthrough a series of public hearingsresulted in the developmentof a preferred land use plan which reflectsthe goals of the city, existij1gmarket conditionsand the physicalparameters of the District. The productsof this effort include a Land Use Plan; TechnicalReport with cost estimatesfor the public improvements,amarket surveyand financial model which testedthe financial feasibility of the major plan components;a draft Zoning Ordinanceand set of Design Guidelinesfor the new Waterfront District. For detailed information on the financial model and topics discussedbelow, refer to the TechnicalReport. STUDY AREA The studyarea includes all of the property currently within the Waterfront District and runs from Louisa Street north to Annsville Creek, and includc~all the land west of Route 9 as well as the CentralAvenue corridor to WashingtonStreet. GOALS AND OBJEcrIVES The following goalsand objectiveswere developedthrough discus:;ionswith the Waterfront TaskForce, public input and the Planningstaff. Retain and expandpublic accessto the waterfront for both passiveand active recreation. Preservekey views to water and mountainsbeyond. Peekskill Waterfront District/#8826 April 4, 1990 Page2 Encourage the development of waterfront dependent or ,,-ater related uses which are accessible to the general public, and contnoute to year round, day and night time activity. Link the Central BusinessDistrict to the waterfront throu;ghtthe Central Avenue corridor. Createa visual identity for the district. Encouragepreservation and rehabilitation of historic buildings. Providepublic improvementsand amenities. Identify suitable building envelopeswhich will allow for densitiesthat ad.d people and activityto enliventhe area,and will be attractiveto prospective developers,yet respondto the scaleof existingstructures and the topography. of the waterfront district. Be achievable. It should establisha clear frameworkof land use, densityand massingwhile providing flexibility for unique opportunities and future market conditions. EXISnNG LAND USE Initially set up as a port city takingadvantage of the Hudson Riv'~ras a transportationlink, the Peekskillwaterfront was devotedto hea,'Yindustrial uses suchas stove-makingand other iron productssince the last cenhlry. This waterfront has only recentlybeen reclaimed from its industrial p;1St,and most traces of its shippinga~d manufacturinghistory have been removed. The Riverfront Green, a park constructed on landfill over what v~asonce the site of stove manufacturers, coal piles and wharves, is currently the central feature of the waterfront area. The park is used for active and passive recreation including boat launching, picnicking and is the site of festivals and fairs during Ule summer season. It also holds commuter parking lots for the Metro North rail syst.~mand provides vehicular accessto Travis Point and the Peekskill Yacht Club. Central Avenue is the most direct link from downtownto the noIthern end of the waterfront, running alongMagregorie Brook in a narrow ravine. Along it are a mix of industrialand retail usesin one- and two-storystructures terminating at a retail lumberyardlocated alongthe railroad line. North of Central Avenue, Water Street is primarily light industrial with a number of vacant buildings and a single-lane dirt road which leads from tl1ere to Annsville Creek, a tidal basin at the north end of the District. Annsville Crl~k is currently underutilized as an open space resource. Peekskill Waterfront District/#8826 April 4, 1990 Page3 The central core of the waterfront includingSouth Water Streetand Railroad Avenue. is dominatedby the Metro North commuterrail-line arld train station. including the necessaryparking to servecommuters to New York City and Poughkeepsie.Surface parking lots are located along South WolterStreet. in the Riverfront Greenand adjacentto the station. A number of the,e parcelsare currently owned by the City of Peekskill. Other usesinclude re,taurants. a residential hotel and car repairshop. Severalhistoric structure:;including the Union Hotel and Carbonescluster at the intersectionof Hudsorl and South Water streets. South of the railroad stationis a 28-acreparcel owned by the Si:.tersof St. Joseph, the site of the four-storyconvent, several out buildingsincludin!~ the chapeland private cemeteries. The majority of this parcel is undeveloped The main convent building is a dominatingarchitectural feature of the Waterfront. South of this parcel two City-owned parcels are currently used for maintenance trucks and material storage. These parcels will be removed iron] the Waterfront District and be designated for commercial development such as office or light industrial use. 0 PPORTUNITIES AND CONSTRAINTS Topography-The majority of the Waterfront District is relatively flat land edgedby steep rock bluffs running north~southand roughly following the alignment of Route 9. The railroad trackSwhich bisectthe waterfront from north to south result in relatively narrow developmentparcels. However,the advantageof being at the base of the bluff is that some of the parcelscan accommodate taller structures without affectingthe viewsof other buildingsfurther from the Hudson, Only the St. Joseph'sparcel is at the top of the bluff, and here there are steepslopes and rel~tively shallowsoils. Building heightshere are more sensitivethan elsewherein the District, becauseof views from the river and the Riverfront CJreen. Views -The combinationof steep topographyleading down to the waterfront and the unobstructedviews across Peekskill Bay and the Hudson Rivl~rto undeveloped, wooded New York State conservationland, createa unique experienceof spectacularnatural beauty. The width of the River at this location provides stunning viewsacross the river and north to Bear Mountain, and less appealing views to the south at Indian Point nuclearstation and the RESCO power plant. Access -Street accessto the waterfront area from the center of town, surrounding neighborhoods and from Route 9 is very good. Three major roads connect downtown with the waterfront: Main Street, Central Avenue and! South Street. Hudson Street terminates at the central core of the waterfront, connects adjacent residential neighborhoods and also provides the only vehicular crDssingof the railroad tracks to the Riverfront Green. Peekskill Waterfront District/#8826 April 4, 1990 Page4 Interchanges at Main and Hudson Streets provide access from Route 9, and an additional interchange at Louisa Street is under construction. 'rhe Louisa Street interchange will serve refuse trucks on their way to the regional RESCO plant. Pedestriantraffic to and from the Waterfront is limited by the steepgrade change and current land usesalong these roads, as well as the current lack of activity at the waterfront. The Metro-North commuterrail line servesPeekskill and provides commuter serviceto New York City and Poughkeepsie.Metro-North is currently planning constructionof 600-800new commuterparking spaces in Cortlandt, adding500-700 spacesto the supplyin that area. It is anticipatedthat the curreJlltpressures on parking at the PeekskillStation will be relieved. However, it is i:mportantthat parking supplybe maintainedin Peekskillin order to retain the existing levels of servicewhich include expresstrains to New York City. Traffic and Parking -A parkingand traffic inventoryconducted by Sasaki Associates,in June of 1989,showed that peak hour traffic condi1:ionsat key intersectionswithin the District are good to excellent,with the e"ception of the Route 91SouthStreet ramp, during afternoon peakhours. Once the new Louisa Street interchangeis completed,this condition will be greatlyimproved. It is expectedminimal impactson traffic will result from the developmentplanned for the District. Publiclyowned and privatelyleased commuter parking spaces011. the street and in surfaceparking lots near the Riverfront Greenand the Metro North Commuter Railroad Station number about527 total spaces.The public spa(:es(494) are controlled by meters, or by permitssold by the City to Peekskill residentsand non- residents.The parking inventoryconducted during a typical weel<:day,showed an overall ocupancyof
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