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Hudson River Valley Resort's development plan is for an upscale, gated community with a luxury hotel/spa as its centerpiece. In this common business model, the big profit is not in the hotel/spa centerpiece, but in the real-estate. |
On December 5, 2007, Canopy Development, acting as development manager for Hudson River Valley Resorts, presented to the Town of Rosendale a "concept" design for the proposed development of Williams Lake.| Below is a construction phase diagram of the project as it appears in HRVR's Draft Environmental Impact Statement that was accepted for public review by the DEC, on May 4, 2011. This diagram makes very clear the extent to which the real-estate component - multiple subdivisions and the like - dwarfs the proposed spa/hotel. Outlined areas represent areas of earthmoving and grading, and illustrate the extent to which the landscape will be reshaped. The second map further identifies the various subdivisions and residential units. Construction is phased in stages that are scheduled for a 10 year period of time, during which there would be disturbance on site.  
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Below is a summary map of the proposed development as it was publicly presented in 2007, prepared by Paul Rubin. It was discovered through FOIL requests that certain project details evolved somewhat: single-family homes shifted from place to place; townhouse clusters were reorganized; after public outcry the rail trail was redrawn to follow the rail bed more closely, although it diverts behind the housing on the east side of Williams Lake. These changes can be confirmed in the maps above. However, the scale of the project has not been modified since 2007. Note the extent and scale of the project - the entire area of Ulster County Community College is represented in the lower right corner. |
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return to top of the page What details of the plan are public knowledge?
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 return to top of the page Please Note: Land on the West side of Binnewater Road has been purchased by Canopy/HRVR. Land on the East side of Binnewater Road continues to be owned by two companies formerly run by Anita Peck, but controlling interest in those companies has been transferred to HRVR. |
What properties has Canopy/HRVR acquired? Our research shows:
 Click to access research on many aspects of the project, compiled by Chris Beall |
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Who is Hudson River Valley Resorts? To quote from their submission letter to the Rosendale Town Board dated November 20, 2007 requesting "a zone text amendment for the proposed action": HRVR is an investment group that "includes Rick Steele of Longmeadow Capital, Matrix Planning LLC, and Revolution LLC, as well as other individual investors. The corporation was formed for the purpose of acquiring, master planning, and developing the subject property. HRVR has hired Canopy Development, LLC as the development manager of the proposed resort community..." Click to open Chris Beall's Who's Who page on the developer and the group of investors Canopy is a development company whose major stakeholder as of September '07 was a company called Revolution LLC, a conglomerate created by former AOL/Time-Warner CEO Steve Case. As of July '08, the project is being driven by Rick Steele of Longmeadow Capital, partnering with Revolution LLC, Matrix Planning Inc. and other investors in a new corporate entity that calls itself Hudson River Valley Resorts, LLC. Canopy Development was hired by this corporation to act as development manager, but Canopy is no longer involved. While Revolution LLC remains a stakeholder in the venture, they are now keeping a low profile. To date, Longmeadow Capital has not completed a project of this kind, although an equestrian real-estate development is planned in South Carolina. HRVR was reported to have acquired controlling interest in April '08 of Binnewater Realty and Ulster County Construction Company, Inc., the companies owned by Anita Peck that held ownership of the Williams Lake property among others. Anita Peck was identified at the time as a partner in the proposed development. It is a legitimate question to ask why control was acquired in this way. Such an apparent takeover - rather than a direct sale - might be seen to "grandfather" in the long-standing but ill-defined agreement between the Town and the Williams Lake Hotel, so that aspects of this outdated, almost casual agreement would carry over to new development on the property. To further muddy the water, records seem to indicate that Canopy/HRVR's control of the property may in fact be temporary, paid for by a kind of lease arrangement entered into with Binnewater Realty for a limited period of time - perhaps as few as three years. That strategy would provide some shelter from risk to the investors/developers, who could forfeit their contracted lease money to Ms. Peck and walk away, should their required profit margin be threatened by the unforeseen: denial of the required zoning change; the market downturn and the resulting loss of clientele; or the cost and complexity of defending their plan to build subdivisions amidst the caves, rock ledges, wetlands and sink holes of the proposed site. Longmeadow Capital Partners has invested in interests as diverse as Polish Cable Television, real-estate and thermoplastic polymers. Steve Case's Revolution LLC controls a company called Exclusive Resorts which operates luxury vacation homes and time-shares available to members who pay a one-time fee of as much as $425,000 and additional annual dues of up to $27,500. Also mentioned early-on by Canopy CEO Tom Horton as the client for the Williams Lake development was the Miraval Resort of Tucson, Arizona, as well as the lifestyle/real estate enterprise called Miraval Living - both owned by Steve Case. The Williams Lake project appeared in September '07 to be the Miraval Spa's entry into the East Coast market, where it's main competitor would be Canyon Ranch in Lenox, Massachusetts. According to Canopy/HRVR, the relationship with Revolution has since changed and their direct support of Canopy/HRVR has cooled. In September '07 Canopy was under orders from Revolution LLC to MAKE NO PUBLIC MENTION of the "brand" for whom this property was then intended - Miraval Living. Now, Rick Steele and HRVR say that they don't know what Spa interest might come in, nor do they know who will run it - apparently a "build it and they will come" approach. In any case, the real-estate/gated vacation-home aspect of the Canopy/HRVR concept plan is of great concern. (see ISSUES AND IMPACT) This kind of development plan has become fairly common in recent years, and has proven profitable for the developer who can keep his financing together. These resort destination/real-estate developments have often proved destructive over the long term to the small, rural towns that have hosted them by driving up property taxes while creating hidden costs, by changing community character and, finally, forcing long-term residents to leave. return to top of the page RELATED LINKS on the DEVELOPERS - THEIR CORPORATE STRUCTURE and STATED INTENTIONS >>> Longmeadow Capital Partners, LLC >>> Business Week article on Steve Case's big gamble on hospitality and wellness... >>> New York Times article on Miraval Living - stating Steve Case's intention to brand Miraval as "...the Nike of wellness." >>> Patagonia CEO Michael Crooke Named CEO of Steve Case's Revolution Living >>> Washington Post article on Steve Case going into business with Gaiam Inc. >>> Washington Post: Steve Case's Eco Getaway >>> Think Global: MetaSystem Consulting Group >>> Exclusive Resorts >>> The Revolution Corporation >>> Revolution acquires Canopy >>> The Canopy Corporation >>> Miraval Living >>> Miraval Resort site >>> Curbed.com article on the Miraval Living apartment building in Manhattan READ ABOUT THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN: >>>Fools Rush In : Steve Case, Jerry Levin, and the Unmaking of AOL Time Warner by Nina Munk. >>>Stealing Time : Steve Case, Jerry Levin, and the Collapse of AOL Time Warner by Alec Klein. |
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We at Save the Lakes firmly believe that this gated community/real-estate "resort" plan is an example of inappropriate overdevelopment. Community character, the health of the local economy at the grassroots level, water resources and the environment will all be adversely impacted. PLEASE MAKE A DONATION This is a volunteer effort - help us pay our expenses for expert analysis, legal advice, printing costs, signs, internet... Through the auspices of Friends of the Shawangunks YOUR DONATION IS FULLY TAX-DEDUCTIBLE. |
TO DONATE BY CREDIT CARD: In the additional options box, please designate your donation: "WILLIAMS LAKE" DONATE BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER: You can make a 501(c)(3) deductible charitable contribution by sending a check or money order for ANY amount made out to: Friends of the Shawangunks and mail it to Save the Lakes P.O. Box 153 Rosendale, N.Y. 12472-0153 Please note WILLIAMS LAKE as a memo on your check, and be sure your address is on the check for year-end tax purposes. THANK YOU! PLEASE, CONTRIBUTE WHAT YOU CAN |
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| ABOUT THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT | THE ISSUES AND IMPACTS | SOLUTIONS AND ALTERNATIVES |
| DOCUMENT DOWNLOADS | WHAT YOU CAN DO | CONTACT US | HOME |
| Save the Lakes is a member of the Shawangunk Ridge Coalition. |
