Continental Commons moving forward in Fishkill following court order: What comes next
After more than seven years of argument, accusations and legal filings, Continental Commons may soon begin construction.
The embattled Colonial-themed commercial development, proposed to be built upon Fishkill land that once played a role in the American Revolution, is expected to receive key town approvals Wednesday, under a court order that accompanied a ruling reversing the town's September 2020 decision.
The project had sought relief in Dutchess County Supreme Court after the town board denied a request to allow the Blodgett water and sewer district lines to be extended, claiming the board's decision was arbitrary and unsupported. It also asserted the board and Town Supervisor Ozzy Albra, who won election in 2019 speaking out against Continental Commons and major development in the town in general, was biased against the project.
The development, which is expected to include shops, a hotel, a restaurant and historically-themed replica elements, is on track to break ground in the spring, a spokesperson said. It would be situated on roughly 10.4 acres on the east side of Route 9, near its corner with Interstate 84.
Plans for the water and sewer infrastructure still must receive county health department approvals before they can connect to the town.
What is the historical concern?
Continental Commons was first proposed in 2015. An advocacy group quickly expressed concerns the location could affect the 74-acre historical area known as the Fishkill Supply Depot that included a George Washington encampment during the Revolutionary War. The group, Friends of the Fishkill Supply Depot, has said it wanted to see to it that each 240-year-old artifact be preserved as well as any bodies that may be buried.
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The encampment, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, was created in 1776 as fighting occurred across Long Island, New York City and White Plains. It was a central supply point for the Continental Army's northern troops until war's end in 1783, Dutchess County historian William Tatum has said.
Developer Domenic Broccoli has said the development site won't affect the larger area and that various archeological investigations over the years have shown he is correct. The elements of the larger National Register site "have been documented, or concluded on the basis of archeological information, to have been located outside the limits of the Continental Commons property," a statement said, adding "contrary to project opponents, the studies did not identify a soldiers cemetery nor any other significant artifacts."
Several archaeological investigations of the site conducted in accordance with the state Historic Preservation Office, determined the only remnants include a burial ground of less than half an acre and an unidentified, crumbling wall.
There are no plans for development in a burial area in the property's southwest corner, which will be preserved.
In addition to commercial elements, Continental Commons is slated to include an amphitheater, educational walking trail, replica barracks museum, and other Revolutionary War exhibits, according to court documents.
A federal lawsuit Broccoli filed against several members of Friends of the Fishkill Supply Depot is pending and seeks at least $6 million in damages and other financial compensation. The suit claims several people involved spread false and misleading statements “that constituted a pattern of racketeering activity,” and allegedly did so as a way to devalue his property and further their attempts to acquire the property.
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Defendants have filed motions asking the U.S. District Court judge to dismiss the suit, with at least one filing claiming the suit was brought to "silence historians and non-profit organizations so that they can develop a 10.4-acre parcel of great historic significance into a commercial for-profit enterprise."
Development on the former encampment is not without precedent. The former Dutchess Mall, now Home Depot and a Dutchess Community College extension, was built on the site, as was the Maya Café and a Speedway gas station that Broccoli previously constructed.
What was decided in September?
Broccoli and developers previously announced groundbreaking was within sight in April 2019, after the Fishkill planning board determined the project would not have a significant adverse environmental impact to the land, by unanimous vote.
According to court documents, the planning board suggested to developers they would be required apply for the town to provide water and sewer services to the property, rather than use an out of district provider, in accordance with town board directives. However, delays in reviewing the developers' application − including a lawsuit launched by then-Supervisor-elect Albra, pushed the approval process into 2020.
The board ultimately denied the connection to water and sewer during a Sept. 16, 2020 meeting, deciding the petition was "not otherwise sufficient" and it was "not in the public interest" to approve, according to the court documents.
It's a decision Judge Christi J. Acker annulled in on Sept. 19, 2022. She also ordered the board to approve the connections.
Acker said "it is clear that substantial evidence does not support" the denial of the applications. She noted while the board listed missing analysis from the county department of health as a "principal reason" for the denial, that analysis should not have been needed in order to receive the approval.
"An approval of the applications would only give" the developers "the right to connect the project to the water and sewer districts," Acker wrote, "but their ultimate ability to connect the site's infrastructure to those water and sewer districts cannot occur unless it is approved" by the county.
Acker also found "there is 'no proof at all' that the proposed extension of the" districts "is contrary to public interest," a "there is sufficient water capacity and wastewater conveyance and treatment to service the project.
"Glaringly absent from the record is anything from a town consultant or engineer that supports a finding that it would be contrary to the public interest," she wrote.
She did not rule on alleged prejudice against the project or Albra's alleged conflict of interest, as it is "rendered moot" by her decision regarding the resolution.
What comes next?
The board is not expected to appeal the decision, Albra said.
The resolutions listed for Wednesday's board meeting include that the developer will maintain and own the extensions of the water and sewer. It also notes the town is under "no obligation" to provide service until the project receives county approvals.
Albra said that means "the other people that live around there don’t have to pay for the pipe being fixed.”
A statement from the developer describes Continental Commons as honoring the Fishkill Supply Depot’s historic nature and that it will give visitors an interactive learning experience.
“As I have said in the past, I am committed to developing the 18th century colonial themed village of restaurants, shops, an inn, visitor's center, with a design that integrates architectural features of Revolutionary War buildings throughout Dutchess County,” Broccoli said. “We look forward to construction, and further honoring the birth of our Nation. Like the American Revolutionary War patriots that fought at the Fishkill Supply Depot, my opponents tried to deprive me of my property rights, but they underestimated me. Hussah!”
Michael P. McKinney covers the Mid Hudson Valley for the USA Today Network.
This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Continental Commons: Fishkill project to receive approvals
