What should Poughkeepsie do with the former YMCA property?
City officials announce request for ideas to move forward with Montgomery Street site
For forty years, the Montgomery Street site in downtown Poughkeepsie was a hub for the community with its large swimming pool, indoor track, fitness center and gathering rooms, but has fallen in desperate disrepair since closing in 2009, with the “presence of lead and asbestos as well as mold,” according to the City of Poughkeepsie. Last week, the city released a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) to gain information and ideas on how to move forward with the property.
The city hopes development of the site “provide public benefits, possibly including economic development, social and neighborhood cohesion, facilities and services for youth and young adults, and a sense of place that promotes accessibility.”
Questions from potential developers must be submitted in writing via mail, e-mail or fax by 4 p.m. Monday May 20. Proposals are due in to the City of Poughkeepsie Planning and Development Department by 3 p.m. on Monday June 3.
For more information, visit: http://cityofpoughkeepsie.com/35montgomerystreet
“For years, the city waited to see if private interests alone could resurrect this building, turning it into something positive for the community. We can no longer afford to wait. The site is too important to sit idle for this long. We must be pro-active, if the progress we have made on so many other fronts is to continue.”
