GARRISON, NY (March 29, 2022) – In its ongoing commitment to the Philipstown community, the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (HVSF) announced that it will amend the proposal for its permanent home at The Garrison that is currently under review by the Philipstown Planning Board.
Following three public hearings surrounding the organization’s State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR), as well as three public site visits and multiple public civic conversations throughout the community, HVSF will narrow the scope of its proposed plan. The changes include the removal of the proposed indoor theater and 20-room inn. The organization also announced its intention to plant additional greenery and trees to ensure further screening and limit any view of its permanent tensile theater from Route 9, as well as its plan to adjust the placement of the proposed parking lot out of the designated wetland buffer zone.
“Our goal has always been to be good, collaborative neighbors and thoughtful, intentional land stewards,” said Davis McCallum, artistic director at HVSF. “To everyone who offered their thoughts and opinions about the project, we are so grateful for your feedback. We heard you. Scaling back our proposal will allow us to prove our commitment over time and assure our neighbors that we are steadfast in our promise to work collaboratively as part of this community.”
The omission of the indoor theater and the 20-room inn from the current plan will have a significant impact on many aspects of the project, including a reduction in total square footage of built structures, on site water and sewage usage, number of performances, the duration of the performance season, and the estimation of total visitors on site. In scaling down the scope, the total square feet of facilities will be reduced by 29,600 square feet, or about 39%. It will also result in a 19% reduction from the original plan’s projected water use, saving 3,100 gallons per day. Lastly, the removal of the two structures will decrease the original plan’s maximum site capacity of 1,100 people to 800, a 27% reduction.
“Without the indoor theater and the hotel, our capacity is scaled back to a size that is truly comparable to what our operations have been at Boscobel for 35 years,” said Katie Liberman, managing director at HVSF. “We know that some of our new neighbors have expressed concerns about the theoretical maximum number of visitors projected to visit our new home. This amendment ensures that there is no net increase of visitors in Philipstown on any given night. In fact, the new theater tent will have fewer seats than what we have had before.”
The changes that are allowed by HVSF’s proposed amendments to the plan, including the removal of the indoor theater and the 20-room inn, will be communicated at the April 21, 2022 Planning Board meeting.
“As a resident of Travis Corners Road and close neighbor of the Garrison, I feel that these amendments underscore HVSF’s commitment to being a reliable partner to the community,” said Daniel Jasnow.
“The changes being proposed by the HVSF show their desire to proceed in a way that is sensitive to the community and to the site.” said Hildy and Dan Potts, also residents of Travis Corners Road. “Davis, Katie, and the HVSF team have been incredibly responsive to the concerns of the community, and with this new adjustment they show the kind of thorough and collaborative approach that makes them the ideal stewards of the land and the artistic potential of this beautiful site.”
“The Hudson Highlands Land Trust and HVSF share the responsibility of being good land stewards to this beautiful property,” said Katrina Shindledecker, executive director of Hudson Highlands Land Trust. “All of us in Phillipstown care deeply about the culture and nature of this space, and I welcome these thoughtful amendments to the plan. These changes make it clear that HVSF is listening to our community.”
About Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival
Founded in 1987, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (HVSF) is a critically acclaimed (The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal), professional, non-profit theater company. The Festival has established a reputation for lucid, engaging, and highly inventive productions staged in rotating repertory under an iconic, open-air theater tent overlooking the Hudson River. In recent years, the Festival has also ventured beyond the tent, touring its work to other venues throughout the Hudson Valley as part of its HVSF On the Road series, transferring productions to other theaters, engaging its community through radically participatory art-making, and reaching over 50,000 students and educators annually through its year-round education programs. For more information, visit: hvshakespeare.org or follow HVSF on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.
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|
Units |
HVSF/GGC Original Proposal |
HVSF/GGC Updated Proposal |
% Change |
|
Gallons Per Day |
16,453 |
13,353 |
-19% |
|
Square Feet |
75,590 |
45,990 |
-39% |
|
People |
1,124 |
853 |
-24% |