Layout reconfigured at Fjord Trail hub

Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail Inc. has reconfigured the parking layout at Dutchess Manor, which it plans to restore as a visitor's center and staff offices, in response to concerns from neighbors about views from their properties.

Amy Kacala, HHFT's executive director, presented the revisions to the Town of Fishkill Planning Board at its Aug. 14 meeting. The number of parking spaces planned will remain at 181, including spaces at a nearby building at 14 Coris Lane. But the revised plan calls for focusing expansion on the existing lot and replacing paved space proposed to the south with gravel and grass.

Those areas will be limited to occasional overflow parking, and a buffer of vegetation along the lawn will shield a private home at 20 Coris Lane. The overflow area will be gated and should "keep most of the parking further away from the neighbors, most of the year," she said.

In addition, standalone restrooms for the estimated 36,000 annual visitors to the center will be relocated to a sunken courtyard on the south side of the main building. Kacala said HHFT had been "struggling with, from a design perspective, the resthouse and how you add a building next to the historic building without those two things fighting."

The restrooms will be "earth-sheltered" on three sides and capped with a green roof, she said. Visitors will use a stairway to access an event lawn behind Dutchess Manor or to enter the building from the rear.

Introduced in July 2024, the Dutchess Manor project involves the demolition of structures added when the property served as an event and catering venue, and the restoration of historical features that have been effaced since its construction in 1868 as a home for merchant James Wade and his wife, Louisa.

Frank Timoney, an Irish immigrant who grew wealthy operating three brickyards at Dennings Point, bought the property in 1889. According to the Beacon Historical Society, George Coris, a furrier from New York City, purchased the property at a tax sale in 1944. His family operated it as a hotel, restaurant and bar and event space until the pandemic.

In addition to approvals for its site plan and a special-use permit, HHFT wants to rezone 14 Coris Lane. It plans to revive the structure's original slate roof and rear patio, remove paint to expose brickwork and rebuild trim. Inside, HHFT would create first-floor spaces for a welcome desk and exhibits, upper-floor offices and meeting space and install an elevator.

Along with the 14,530-square-foot lawn for events and picnicking, HHFT plans a drop-off area for buses shuttling hikers between the center, trailheads and parking areas planned for Route 9D, along with electric-vehicle charging stations and new landscaping and lighting.

A traffic study did not identify any significant impacts, HHFT said, but was updated to include a left-turn lane for northbound vehicles that would need to be approved by the state Department of Transportation.