16 October 2026
Beacon Planning Board Updates 172 Main St./2 Cross St. 393-397 Fishkill Ave. 364 Main St.
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Amended site-plan requests on the agenda
The Beacon Planning Board on Wednesday (Oct. 14) approved amended site plans for developments at 248 Tioronda Ave. and 172 Main St.
The approval at Tioronda Avenue, an apartment complex called The Arno that hugs Fishkill Creek, caps more than a decade of twists and turns. It was approved in 2014 as a 100-unit development, but the city rezoned land surrounding the creek in 2017, ruling that steep slopes and wetlands could not be counted when calculating a parcel's density.
That led to approval in 2020 of amended plans for 64 apartments and a commercial building, also a requirement of the rezoning. But by 2024, after constructing the apartments, owner Bernard Kohn said he could not find a tenant for the unbuilt commercial structure. The City Council agreed to waive the commercial requirement and allow Kohn to construct two new buildings with 136 apartments, 27 of them to be rented at below-market rates.
Board members on Wednesday approved the site plan for those buildings, with the caveat that the project team finalize details on landscaping and other elements before board Chair John Gunn signs off.
"It's been a long journey, gentlemen," Gunn said. "We trust that you'll do the right thing."
"We aspire to make you all proud," said Jay Blumenfeld, a project official.
The board also approved a series of changes to the mixed-use development under construction at 172 Main St./2 Cross St.
First approved in 2023, the applicant sought approval for several modifications made during construction, including entrances to the ground-level commercial spaces, a sidewalk planting area and a rooftop vestibule. The primary features of the three-story project — a mix of 18 below-market and market-rate apartments above 5,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space — are unchanged.
After hearing comments from several residents, the board decided to keep open a public hearing on the application for amended approval of the project at 393-397 Fishkill Ave.
The development, which is owned by Jordan Haug, the chair of the Zoning Board of Appeals, was approved in 2023 as a three-story building at the intersection of Fishkill Avenue and Conklin Street with 12 apartments and 3,500 square feet of commercial space. In August, with Haug recused, the ZBA approved variances allowing the addition of a set-back fourth floor and two additional apartments. That sent the project back to the Planning Board for amended site-plan approval.
Neighbors in the adjoining residential area have protested the additional floor. A Conklin Street resident said Wednesday that he believes trucks making deliveries to the commercial tenants will exacerbate congestion in the area. "I want you to think about what you're doing to the people that live there," he said.
Taylor Palmer, the project attorney, noted that there are already offices at the site. "This isn't a vacant property," without existing traffic flow, he said.
In response, Gunn, who said he was referring to development citywide, said it's "abundantly evident" that traffic in Beacon is a significant issue, despite the repeated attestations of consultants hired by developers. "As a city, this is becoming a real problem," he said.
The board was scheduled to continue its review of amended plans for the mixed-use development at 364 Main St., but project officials asked to have it adjourned until next month.
The project team returned to the board in May after identifying around two dozen elements of the nearly complete three-story building that deviate from the plans approved in 2022. Planning Board members were extremely critical of the inconsistencies and have spent the months since going line-by-line through the changes and project officials' plans to remedy them.
Reviewing proposed fixes last month to architectural details including cornices, windows and railings, as well as landscaping plans and the Main Street residential entrance, Gunn acknowledged that ADG Architects, a firm...
The Beacon Planning Board on Wednesday (Oct. 14) approved amended site plans for developments at 248 Tioronda Ave. and 172 Main St.
The approval at Tioronda Avenue, an apartment complex called The Arno that hugs Fishkill Creek, caps more than a decade of twists and turns. It was approved in 2014 as a 100-unit development, but the city rezoned land surrounding the creek in 2017, ruling that steep slopes and wetlands could not be counted when calculating a parcel's density.
That led to approval in 2020 of amended plans for 64 apartments and a commercial building, also a requirement of the rezoning. But by 2024, after constructing the apartments, owner Bernard Kohn said he could not find a tenant for the unbuilt commercial structure. The City Council agreed to waive the commercial requirement and allow Kohn to construct two new buildings with 136 apartments, 27 of them to be rented at below-market rates.
Board members on Wednesday approved the site plan for those buildings, with the caveat that the project team finalize details on landscaping and other elements before board Chair John Gunn signs off.
"It's been a long journey, gentlemen," Gunn said. "We trust that you'll do the right thing."
"We aspire to make you all proud," said Jay Blumenfeld, a project official.
The board also approved a series of changes to the mixed-use development under construction at 172 Main St./2 Cross St.
First approved in 2023, the applicant sought approval for several modifications made during construction, including entrances to the ground-level commercial spaces, a sidewalk planting area and a rooftop vestibule. The primary features of the three-story project — a mix of 18 below-market and market-rate apartments above 5,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space — are unchanged.
After hearing comments from several residents, the board decided to keep open a public hearing on the application for amended approval of the project at 393-397 Fishkill Ave.
The development, which is owned by Jordan Haug, the chair of the Zoning Board of Appeals, was approved in 2023 as a three-story building at the intersection of Fishkill Avenue and Conklin Street with 12 apartments and 3,500 square feet of commercial space. In August, with Haug recused, the ZBA approved variances allowing the addition of a set-back fourth floor and two additional apartments. That sent the project back to the Planning Board for amended site-plan approval.
Neighbors in the adjoining residential area have protested the additional floor. A Conklin Street resident said Wednesday that he believes trucks making deliveries to the commercial tenants will exacerbate congestion in the area. "I want you to think about what you're doing to the people that live there," he said.
Taylor Palmer, the project attorney, noted that there are already offices at the site. "This isn't a vacant property," without existing traffic flow, he said.
In response, Gunn, who said he was referring to development citywide, said it's "abundantly evident" that traffic in Beacon is a significant issue, despite the repeated attestations of consultants hired by developers. "As a city, this is becoming a real problem," he said.
The board was scheduled to continue its review of amended plans for the mixed-use development at 364 Main St., but project officials asked to have it adjourned until next month.
The project team returned to the board in May after identifying around two dozen elements of the nearly complete three-story building that deviate from the plans approved in 2022. Planning Board members were extremely critical of the inconsistencies and have spent the months since going line-by-line through the changes and project officials' plans to remedy them.
Reviewing proposed fixes last month to architectural details including cornices, windows and railings, as well as landscaping plans and the Main Street residential entrance, Gunn acknowledged that ADG Architects, a firm...