By Jeff Simms for The Highlands Current
The historic Tioronda Estate on the outskirts of Beacon, which includes the former Craig House psychiatric center, was sold on Sept. 18, just hours before the City Council enacted a six-month building moratorium.
Daniel Aubry, the Beacon real estate agent who brokered the deal, said on Sept. 20 that he could not reveal the name of the buyer or the purchase price without the permission of the buyer, who he said is traveling outside the country. Aubry confirmed that the buyer is the same “investment group” that he referred to in an interview with The Current in July. read more...

300-Plus Unit Development Proposed for Beacon Train Station Area​
City planning board reviewing proposal
via Highlands Current, By Jeff Simms
A Beacon developer is moving forward with plans to construct more than 300 apartments at a site a half-mile from the Metro-North train station.
If approved, the project, dubbed Edgewater, would be the largest apartment or condominium development in Beacon.
Plans submitted to the Planning Board earlier this year by Scenic Beacon Developments, which is managed by Rodney Weber, call for 307 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments to be spread across seven buildings on the 12-acre site at 22 Edgewater Place. The materials state that Scenic Beacon expects current and new city residents to live at Edgewater, with the availability of smaller spaces there designed to keep and attract “millennials.” read more...

Public weighs in on linkage zone, affordable housing
From The Highlands Current
By Jeff Simms
The debate over whether to rezone a handful of properties within Beacon’s west-side linkage zone, now six months old, appears primed to continue for at least another month — as does the ongoing discussion about how to calculate affordable housing citywide.
Both issues were the subjects of public hearings on Aug. 15, and both were adjourned pending input from Dutchess County planners.
The linkage debate began in February when a group of residents petitioned the city to rezone seven parcels within the zone, which was created three years ago to encourage increased residential development in the area between the west end of Main Street and the Hudson River. The petitioners argued that high-density linkage zoning would disrupt the neighborhoods surrounding the seven parcels, two of which sit on South Avenue, with five others on Wolcott Avenue/Route 9D.
The petition has drawn particular attention for including “Parcel L,” the name used for the three lots just south of the Reformed Church of Beacon on Route 9D. Parcel L is owned by Beacon Ridge Associates and a builder, Unicorn Contracting, has proposed a 70-unit development called River Highlands for the site. read more...

Public weighs in on linkage zone, affordable housing
From The Highlands Current
By Jeff Simms
The debate over whether to rezone a handful of properties within Beacon’s west-side linkage zone, now six months old, appears primed to continue for at least another month — as does the ongoing discussion about how to calculate affordable housing citywide.
Both issues were the subjects of public hearings on Aug. 15, and both were adjourned pending input from Dutchess County planners.
The linkage debate began in February when a group of residents petitioned the city to rezone seven parcels within the zone, which was created three years ago to encourage increased residential development in the area between the west end of Main Street and the Hudson River. The petitioners argued that high-density linkage zoning would disrupt the neighborhoods surrounding the seven parcels, two of which sit on South Avenue, with five others on Wolcott Avenue/Route 9D.

Residents fear “Main Street-style” buildings
From the Highlands Current
​By Jeff Simms
With round one in the books, the public hearing on whether to rezone a handful of parcels within Beacon’s Main Street-to-river linkage zone will continue next month.
The process began on Monday (April 4) when the City Council heard arguments from a number of residents who believe their properties should not be part of a section of Beacon designated for dense residential growth.
At issue are seven parcels — two on South Avenue and five on Wolcott Avenue — that sit inside the city’s “linkage zone,” an area designated in 2013 for expanded growth to support nearby Main Street businesses. The seven properties are also part of the Historic District and Landmark Overlay, and some of the property owners believe the linkage zoning is at odds with the intent of the historic district.
Several of the property owners filed a petition with the city in February asking that the seven parcels be returned to their pre-linkage, medium-density zoning. read more...

Hope change would forestall 70-unit development
From the Highlands Current
​By Jeff Simms
A group of Beacon residents have petitioned the city to rezone their properties, which sit in a zone that “links” Main Street to the riverfront, to deter a 70-unit residential development proposed for the neighborhood.
The parcels named on the petition — two on the west side of South Avenue and five on the west side of Wolcott Avenue (Route 9D) — are all within the “linkage zone” established by the city in 2013 to support businesses on the west end of Main. The seven parcels, however, as well as others directly outside of the linkage zone, also lie within the city’s Historic District and Landmark Overlay, which requires owners to receive approval from the planning board for exterior alterations.
The property owners presented their petition to the City Council last month, asking that it restore the single-family residential zoning that existed prior to the approval of the linkage rezoning in 2013. read more...

City of Beacon’s Real Estate Savvy Quotientvia WIGWAM 
Some of the real estate dealings involving the City of Beacon appear puzzling, at least when looking in from the outside. For instance, the city recently purchased a lot on the creek for over half a million dollars. Yet only two years ago, it sold a prime double city lot in the heart of town for $5,000. Today, there is a double lot listed on South Avenue for $524,000. Has Beacon real estate really taken off that much? read more...

Housing Boom in Beacon in 2016Hundreds of new units planned
via Highlands Current, By Jeff Simms
More than 400 apartments and condominiums — overlooking the Hudson River, atop Main Street businesses and filling repurposed industrial buildings — have been approved for construction in Beacon, with many more under review by the city’s Planning Board. As many as 100 new units, many of them rentals, could be ready for occupancy in 2016. read more...

Craig House Owner Dies
via WIGWAM

The owner of the Craig House has died. Robert Wilson, a hedge fund manager who amassed a fortune and gave most of it away, jumped from his 16th-floor Upper West Side co-op in Manhattan on December 23. He was 87 and had recently suffered a stroke. Wilson bought the Craig House and the 64-acre grounds across from University Settlement on Rt. 9D in 2003 or 2004. It is listed in records as belonging to Tioranda LLC, 520 83rd Street, Brooklyn, NY...  read more

The Main Street Corridor Committee Memo was asked to issue a statement regarding proposed commercial portion of the TOD zoning: