Midtown Thriving: BOA Grant

The City of Kingston, in partnership with Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress, has won a Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) grant for $238,559 from the New York State Department of State. The joint project is called Midtown Thriving: A Community Vision to Revitalize Vacant Properties.

The grant will fund a community-driven plan for the redevelopment of certain properties within the Midtown neighborhood of Kingston. The work will focus on vacant and abandoned properties within a 270-acre area that runs along the Broadway corridor. Ulster County led a preliminary study of this area in Midtown Kingston in 2019. Pattern for Progress will lead the development of a final BOA plan, which will take about two years to complete. The final plan will be submitted to the state to complete the BOA nomination and unlock tax credits that encourage the redevelopment of properties in alignment with the community’s vision.

Steering Committee

Planning Process and Outcomes

The planning process starts with an in-depth analysis of existing conditions and opportunities for revitalization. It includes multiple public engagements, including meetings and workshops where Kingston residents will help planners identify priority parcels for redevelopment and create a vision for their potential uses. Designation as a BOA by the State will give development in the area priority and preference for state programs, eligibility for pre-development funding, and it will unlock tax credits for property owners and developers.

These benefits will encourage the revitalization of underutilized parcels while helping Kingston move toward equitable, environmentally responsible, mixed-use and walkable infill redevelopment. The BOA plan will set forth a clear community vision with key redevelopment goals. Based on that community input, the plan could spur investment in new housing and businesses, improve environmental quality, and connect the neighborhood internally and to other parts of Kingston through the city’s urban trail system.

Brownfields in Midtown

To learn more about known environmental assessment and remediation of sites in Kingston visit the following sites:

Environmental Site Remediation Database Search (ny.gov)

This database contains records of the sites which have been remediated or are being managed under one of DER’s remedial programs (i.e. , State Superfund, Brownfield Cleanp, etc.). All sites listed on the "Registry of Inactive Hazardous Waste Disposal Sites in New York State" are include in this database. The Database also includes the "Registry of Institutional and Engineering Controls in New York State".

Each site record includes:

• Administrative information, including site name, classification, and unique site code
• Location
• Site owner(s)
• Institutional and Engineering Controls
• Description of each site
• Wastes known or thought to be disposed at the site
• Assessment of environmental and health problems

Kingston Brownfield Assessments | EngageKingston.com

In 2018, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) selected the City of Kingston to receive two Community Wide Brownfields Assessment Grants -- $200,000 for hazardous substance and $200,000 for petroleum assessments at locations across the City. The purpose of the funding is to help us undertake and complete assessments that will encourage the cleanup of properties that are underutilized and contaminated, or potentially contaminated, and return them to beneficial reuse. More information here.

Assessment activities began not long after the award announcement and to date have taken place primarily in the Midtown and Rondout Waterfront Districts. Grant funds have been used to update the City's inventory of potential brownfield sites; educate residents about the City's Brownfields Program; solicit information on additional potential projects; develop site selection priorities and criteria; conduct Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs); and begin to perform follow-up in Phase II.

Follow the project to get updates on the BOA planning process can learn about meetings, workshops and other opportunities.

Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress is a nonprofit organization that provides objective research, planning, and educational training throughout the region. Its work identifies civic challenges and promotes regional, equitable, and sustainable solutions to constantly improve the quality of life in Hudson Valley communities. Pattern develops its work upon a considerable foundation of facts and experience, without political aims or affiliations. More information can be found at www.Pattern-for-Progress.org.