Dutchess Manor in the Town of Fishkill, approved as a visitor center for the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail. Photo: Daniel Case, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
The Fishkill Planning Board on Oct. 8 approved a site plan and special-use permit for the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail to turn Dutchess Manor, the historic property on Route 9D, into a visitor center and organizational hub for the planned 7.5-mile trail between Cold Spring and Beacon. The Highlands Current reported the board’s vote on Oct. 14. Mid-Hudson News later described the same approval and a 2027 opening; the Current said the project is expected to be completed by fall 2027.
The plan includes 67 parking spaces, a first-floor welcome desk and interpretive exhibits, offices and meeting rooms upstairs, public restrooms off a sunken yard on the south side of the building, and a rear lawn for gatherings, the Current reported. A shuttle would run to and from trailheads. HHFT still needs approvals from the state Department of Transportation and other agencies, according to the Current, which wrote that the Planning Board action “largely concludes a two-year review” that drew opposition over parking and traffic.
In response to those concerns, HHFT reduced the number of parking spaces by 57 percent, including dropping a 47-spot overflow area south of the main building, the Current reported. The board will still require a study, within 15 months of opening, of how the lot is used, including how many hours 85 percent or more of the spaces are occupied. Board attorney Dominic Cordisco said that if the site is “not functioning ideally,” the board could later ask the applicant to pursue changes.
Peter Mullan, HHFT’s president and CEO, said the approval allows the organization “to move forward to transform Dutchess Manor into the Fjord Trail Visitor Center.” In comments carried by both outlets, he said that besides restoring the 19th-century building and its surroundings, the project would create accessible public spaces and indoor and outdoor areas “that will support programmatic partnerships with schools and local nonprofits.” Executive Director Amy Kacala had told the board in September, the Current reported, that programming could include art exhibits, classes, winter walks, lawn games, food trucks and picnicking.
The building is on the National Register of Historic Places. Mid-Hudson News said it was constructed in 1867 as a country estate for grain merchant James Wade; the Current dated the original residence to 1868. HHFT bought the property in 2020. The Current reported the purchase, with an adjacent parcel at 14 Coris Lane, was for $3.4 million; Mid-Hudson News did not state a price. The Current said several catering additions have already come down under a certificate of appropriateness, and that the work includes restoring features such as the slate roof, rear porch, brickwork and trim.
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