Armed with commitments of $684,000 in county funding, two mixed-use developments slated for blighted stretches of middle Main Street steamed toward groundbreaking this week as each received key variances from the city's Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). The two developments—which are now scheduled to appear before the city Planning Board later this month—would collectively create 78 new apartment units built over ground floor commercial spaces along stretches of the 300 and 400 Blocks of Main Street.

Making good on his pledge to commit county funds to new upper floor residential development along the Main Street corridor, Dutchess County Executive William Steinhaus announced in December that $314,000 in federal HOME Investment Partnership funds would be allocated to developer Jon Behrends' plan to rehabilitate seven connected buildings along 382-394 Main St. Behrends' project calls for the creation of 32 apartments and several commercial spaces. The county also committed $370,000 to a project proposed by the development team of Pennrose Properties and DuVernay & Brooks, which plans to construct three four-story buildings with 56 apartments and up to 9,000 square-feet of commercial space along 417-451 Main St.

Collectively, officials say, the two projects have the potential to infuse new life and economic vitality into a bedraggled stretch of Main Street while addressing a countywide shortage in affordable rental housing. "The issue of adequate housing inventory is critical to maintaining our workforce and especially to insuring that our young adult workforce can afford to live in Dutchess County by being able to access housing that is affordable to their budgets. Our continuing relentless efforts to the revitalization of our two urban centers in Poughkeepsie and Beacon offer tremendous opportunity to meet these important goals," Steinhaus stated in a Dec. 18 press release announcing the grant awards.

Developer Behrends, who has successfully rehabilitated several other vacant and ramshackle downtown properties, said this week that his crews have begun demolition work in the buildings in preparation for construction, which he hopes to commence later this spring and complete by the end of this year. He praised the county's commitment of funding and the cooperation of city officials in helping to "fast track" the estimated $3 million project that will appear on the planning board's Jan. 28 agenda for site plan and special use approvals. "As a developer you couldn't ask for a more cooperative group of people than we have in place right now," he said, adding that the existence of another major development proposal close by only bolsters the chances of success for all involved. "It's reassuring that other people are doing what I'm doing...This way you'll get a complete transformation of Main Street."

Gale Kaufmann, managing director of development for DuVernay & Brooks, was also encouraged at her project's speedy approval by the ZBA. "It was our first formal meeting with one of the city's review boards. We're glad that they acted favorably so we'll be able to move quickly forward," she said.

Now, she said, the development team will set its sights upon garnering site plan and special use permits at the planning board's Jan. 28 meeting. Once that is accomplished, Kaufmann said, they will file an application in March for financing with the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR). The request for a $1.2 million loan and another $1 million in housing tax credits represent a critical aspect of the overall financing for the estimated $13 million project, she said, adding that the DHCR funding awards are generally announced by the state in September. "If we get the award we're requesting, we're prepared to start construction before the end of 2003," Kaufmann said.

While they agree that it won't be hard to find tenants to fill the rental units once they're built, both developers admit the ultimate challenge for their projects will be to find appropriate tenants for the commercial space, as an increasing amount of as-yet unrented business and retail space comes on line in downtown Poughkeepsie.

"The residential component is going to be an easier nut to crack because of the low vacancy rate in Poughkeepsie and Dutchess County. Once you create that customer base, it should help with the commercial element," Behrends said.

Kaufmann agreed. "(Finding commercial tenants) will definitely be a challenge, but we believe if we bring families back and repopulate Main Street, it will bring the business owners back to Main Street as well," she said, adding that the two similar Main Street developments will invariably "strengthen each other."