Between June 11 and July 15, the Village of Montgomery’s Local Planning Committee hosted an Open Call to Projects, an online form where sponsors submitted project ideas for the village’s NY Forward program. After eagerly awaiting for the past two months, the committee members received the full submission list from their consultants last Wednesday, July 24, fueling their imaginations with ideas to implement into their downtown revitalization plan.

Tommy Boston and Christiana Kastalek, two consultants from Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc., opened the meeting by recapping the NY Forward timeline, previous engagement opportunities, and the project evaluation process. They also shared three key takeaways from the village’s downtown profile and assessment: the needs for enhanced pedestrian accessibility and safety, more diverse businesses, and improved quality of life through community-building opportunities.

“Village residents experience a high quality of life benefitting from access to nature and the Wallkill River, a waklable and vibrant downtown, a burgeoning arts scene, and rich historical assets,” Boston said, reading one of the takeways. “To sustain this quality of life and attract more residents and visitors to Downtown Montgomery, it is essential to provide new and diverse opportunities to live, recreate, and build community, while preserving and enhancing the built and natural environments.”

The Project List
Following their summaries, Boston and Kastalek revealed the meeting’s focal point: a list of 15 submissions from the Open Call for Projects, totaling to $10,719,515 in NYF request funds. The original submission count was 18 but since a few projects shared similar intentions, some were combined. The project list was split into three categories based on their sponsors: public, private, and non-profit.

For public projects, the Village of Montgomery submitted four ideas: enhancements to the village’s branding, marketing, and wayfinding; improvements to the village’s streetscaping; a redesign of Veterans Memorial Park; and improvements to downtown buildings using the Small Projects Fund.

For non-profit projects, the Montgomery Nursery School submitted two ideas: an expansion to the nursery’s building on 21 Wallkill Avenue, and a renovation of an old water building department on 17K for the nursery’s Universal Pre-Kindergarten program.

For private projects, several sponsors submitted nine ideas:
1. Rowley Development Corp proposed a mixed-use building on 40 Railroad Avenue comprising ground-level retail space, 12 apartments, and parking.
2. Associate Properties of the Hudson Valley LLC proposed an expansion to a historical building on 63 Clinton Street to include more retail space and three residential apartments.

3. Hanover Development proposed a mixed-use building on 71-73 Clinton Street comprising commercial space and 11 residential apartments.
4. Overhuser Enterprises LLC proposed an extension and upgrade to the Overhiser Funeral Home on 78 Union Street with improved amenities.
5. ROT Enterprises proposed renovations to a former, single-family residence on 76 Union Street, turning the property into a mulit-purpose, conference space for funeral services.
6. Cape Properties LLC proposed restorations to an early 1800’s, multi-family building on 64 Clinton Street.
7. Cape Properties LLC proposed restorations to a historic, mixed-use building on 11 Clinton Street, with upgrades to energy efficiency, appearance, and structural integrity.
8. Angjell Nikollaj proposed renovations to a mixed-used building on 102-108 Clinton Street, providing improvements to the building’s upper-story apartments.
9. Robert Mathieu proposed renovations to a carriage house on 77 Ward Street for residential and personal office spaces.

One Ineligible Project
Of the 15 projects, the only one that was ineligible was Montgomery Nursery School’s submission regarding a former water building on 17K, as the property falls outside of the NY Forward target area. If the LPC wanted go through with this project, they would need to expand the target area, which add new tax parcels and require a second Open Call for Project, drastically changing the committee’s timeline.

The Next Steps

This meeting served as an introduction to the submission list, providing the LPC with overviews of each project, their function, and their costs. During the next meeting on August 29, the committee will begin refining this list, deciding which projects the village should implement, and scale each project to a reasonable scope that meets New York State’s expectations. The final project list should total between $6 million and $8 million.

Brian Fitzpatrick, LPC member and village historian, thanked everyone involved in the village’s Forward program for their hard work thus far and expressed his enthusiasm for continuing the process, all toward making the village the best place it can be for both residents and visitors.

“Whatever the money is, wherever is goes, and however it winds up, it’s coming downtown. It’s coming to our parks, it’s coming or to our villages, and that’s where we’re here right now. It’s a good thing, a great thing, a phenomenal thing” he said. “We’ll have to sit down with the developers and really push our vision upon those developers, telling them ‘This is what it looks like.’ The downtown area is picturesque and charming, but now we’re going to elevate and enhance it.”

To learn more about the village’s NY Forward plan and future meetings, visit montgomerynyf.com.