Over 300 acres between Oxford Road at Route 94 and Round Hill Road between Routes 94 and 208 was purchased in 2021 as part of a larger Holding Company (BGRE)'s purchase of 705 acres for $6M that includes part of Hardscrabble Road and a section in the Village of South Blooming Grove. Town residents were at the time understandably concerned that an explosion of new housing that has already taken somewhat of a cost of views and environmental resources might really cross their red line in the battle between stunning views, historic farmland and its environmental resources (especially its aquifer). Now they are wondering whether they are going to be put between "a rock and a hard place" or be the beneficiaries of a distribution center that would likely protect all but about 50 of the total acreage. And beyond that, there are 2 additional adjacent large swaths of land being sought to be protected; a forested area on a steep hillside at the corner of Prospect Road and the Round Hill Marshland with protected views of the Schunnemunk Ridge. The Marsh covers hundreds of acres, much of it wetlands, along the North side of that stretch.
At the time of the $6M purchase, the property was zoned for housing. It has since been rezoned for Commercial "Sustainable Business".
It sounds like this project could be a dream come true in this sector with many conservation enthusiasts and hiking and view-loving residents, along with 3 historic farms and Round Hill FEAST Center. The new stretch of the Schunnemunk Rail Trail will be coming through and bringing hikers nearby in the near future. But TWO Million square ft. of building space is a lot to swallow, and to date some residents are already horrified, others are persuadable with a long list of conditions, and others are thrilled. After all, how else would between 250 and 290 acres of forest and wetland remain undisturbed.
The timeline for this project would be very long, estimates being about 2 years before any possible approval. BGRE is looking for a Special Use Permit at present, and whether the Town Board, the Planning Board or both would be Lead Agency on this large venture. To the residents' benefit, Project Engineer Morgano has already vowed to offer very large buffers with berms and mature evergreens blocking the view of the 2 largest of 4 buildings, along with a soundproofing wall if necessary. Morgano added "I'm going to 'landscape the heck' out of this project." He has also encouraged residents in the vicinity to keep track of related meetings, attend and speak up so that any resulting construction can be the best possible result for the town, the builder and residents. Three enormous advantages would be that there would be 1- Very little water use 2.- individual septic systems and eventually a possible small package plant, neither of which would discharge any negative effluent. And 3- A very significant net tax positive benefit that could help struggling homeowners.
The other huge considerations will be building appearance and siting, hours of operation, and a hoped-for limit on numbers and hours of truck entry and exits. and the noise, exhaust and traffic that would be challenging to mitigate. . A light at the Oxford intersection is being considered.
This is a very new proposal that the Planning Board saw a "Pre-Submittal" description of several months ago, and it was presented to the Town Board at its last meeting for the first time. So far, the current prevailing opinion in the neighborhood is to explore its potential and withhold judgment. The Town's other large commercial development, MediaCom for instance, did a stellar job on all fronts, with beautiful landscaping, a building to be proud of, and Community Programs like internships and training programs, that made them a welcome asset.
Town Engineer, Mike Weeks will be making a presentation at Town Hall during one of its next 2 board meetings, either on December 3 or December 10
By Edie Johnson
Executive Editor
Disclosure: I own one of the 3 historic farm sites on Round Hill Road, a small 4.7 acre horse farm. settled in 1810. Generally, I am in favor of this project (how else could we be the beneficiaries of hundreds of acres of woodland, wetlands and protected views,) My large reservation is whether number of trucks per day can be limited when in full operation, and NO truck "beeping" on the site acreage which is private property.
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