Project Overview

Description

Demetroules R.E., LLC has petitioned the Village of Warwick for amendments to the Village Zoning Law so as to allow for the resurrection of the historic Red Swan Inn at the southern gateway to the Village. This would include the creation of a new floating "hospitality traditional neighborhood design" zone and the rezoning of certain parcels and premises. This rezoning process is consistent with the Village of Warwick's Comprehensive Master Plan, which called for the adoption of new zoning to create such traditional neighborhood design.

Demetroules R.E., LLC has been in discussions for the past few years with local business, civic and community leaders, to develop a plan for this property consistent with the Village's Comprehensive Plan and other community mandates. We believe that the new Red Swan Inn at Welling Farm Square will help further Warwick's growing agri-tourism agenda, and will be a beautiful centerpiece at the gateway of the Village. The proposed inn and neighborhood will generate tax ratables; bring jobs, tourism dollars and other benefits to the community with little impact on infrastructure, including the school system.

The Red Swan Inn at Welling Farm Square will be the centerpiece of a new Village hospitality district, at the site of the original Welling Farm (1750) and the former Pioneer dairy and restaurant. As befits the southern gateway to the Village the project will boldly and elegantly announce the hospitality and neighborly spirit of the Warwick community, much as the original Red Swan Inn grandly did more than a century ago.

The Red Swan Inn will be part of a newly-created Village square and streetscape, containing a mix of hospitality uses. Guests and neighbors alike can stroll through this new Welling Farm Square, enjoying signature gardens, sculpture, and historical memorabilia, and might access:

A catering facility, to celebrate special occasions and functions
A restaurant and tavern, to fill hungry bellies and rest weary feet
Tourism services and packages, to provide a gateway welcome for the region's 4-season activities and attractions, such as apple and fruit orchards and wineries, black dirt onion and vegetable farms and markets, horseback riding stables, Appalachian hiking trails, ski and snowboard slopes, golf courses touring back roads, historic homes, artist studios and galleries, entertainment venues and festivals, antique and craft shops, and non-chain specialty retail stores and restaurants, all of which are found in abundance in the Warwick Valley
Conference facilities, to meet and assemble, and to spark creative thought and teamwork
Select retail shops and offices, to further the mixed-use atmosphere of Welling Farm Square
Residential artist loft units or town homes, to complete the mixed-use Village streetscape.

Facts At A Glance

Developer: Demetroules R.E. LLC is the owner and developer of the Red Swan Inn at Welling Farm Square. Demetroules R.E. LLC is a limited liability company located in Warwick, New York. Managing member Michael S. Demetroules is a lifelong Village of Warwick resident. Michael and his siblings are the grandchildren and direct descendant of the first Thomas Welling, who in 1750 founded what became the Welling Pioneer Farms and Dairy.

The Welling/Demetroules family has been prominent in the business and charitable affairs of Warwick since pre-Revolutionary War times. There have been Wellings on the boards of the local bank, and Welling donations to the local hospital. Moreover, among the many civic contributions of the Welling Family is the grant of land used to construct the ambulance corps on South Street extension, and the grant of certain reservoirs and easements that form the basis of the Village of Warwick's present-day municipal water supply.

Description: The creation of a new hospitality district, an expansion of and walking distance from downtown Village of Warwick, where local residents and visitors feel welcome and comfortable to dine, stay, meet and relax. The cornerstone of this traditionally-designed, pedestrian-friendly neighborhood is the revival of the historic Red Swan Inn, an elegant country Inn which will be situated among a public green and gardens.

In keeping with the traditional neighborhood design, the district will include a "theme" of hospitality that can be combined with other needs and desires identified by the Comprehensive Plan, such as the need for "commercial, multi-tenant office space", "new and expanded mixed uses', and "safe walkways throughout the Village", and the desire for future development utilizing local architectural styles and design, preservation of historic patterns of landscaping and building setback, street widths and appearances, and emphasis on the pedestrian character of the Village."

The adoption of a "floating hospitality zone" will be based on the distinctive design, aesthetic, mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented, downtown-type development style of the Village of Warwick.

Location: The Red Swan Inn at Welling Farm Square will be located on the original Welling Pioneer Farm and Dairy property in the Village of Warwick. The parcels, 10.57 total acres, represent the southernmost entrance into the Village of Warwick from NYS Route 94 (also know as Oakland Avenue), and from Clinton Avenue Extension (via Galloway Road, also known as NYS17-A)

Raison d'être

Demetroules R.E., LLC is deeply committed to finding the right use for this important gateway into the Village of Warwick. Resurrecting the historic Red Swan Inn and creating a picturesque and welcoming entrance to the Village, one that is consistent with the quaint character and charm of Warwick, is, we believe, the ideal way to develop the property and enhance the Village.
The need for the development of "hospitality" services is clear from the Village of Warwick Comprehensive Plan, as well as from every other planning study and document in the greater Warwick Valley (and indeed in Orange County) over the past several years.

Marketplace demand, coupled with input from local merchants leads us to believe that these essential hospitality services - lodging, catering, conference and meeting spaces, welcome centers, and food and beverage facilities - would promote the Villages' agri-tourism and eco-tourism agenda, complement existing business and community resources and amenities, and attract new visitors, generating new revenue for Village businesses.

Importantly, hospitality services create jobs for the community, generate tax ratables and unlike residential development, hospitality development will not burden the school system.

Benefits:

The benefits to the community are abundant. The project would:

Create a beautiful southern gateway to the Village that extends and enhances the quaint character and charm of the Village;
Boost Warwick's growing agri-tourism and eco-tourism agenda;
Increase commerce for local merchants and businesses;
Expand opportunities to walk, shop, dine, entertain and host family and special occasions or business functions, such as weddings, birthdays, corporate retreats, seminars and business meetings, religious celebrations, retirement parties, bridal and baby showers, and other special meetings and dinners, etc.
Create new jobs;
Bring tourism dollars to the community with little or no impact on infrastructure;
Provide increased tax ratables for Warwick schools, Village and Town;
Create meeting and conference center space and amenities

Timing: The development process is a highly fluid process, and we think it is premature to speculate on construction and completion. We are looking to move this project along as quickly as possible, and our hope is for ground-breaking by spring 2005.

Location

The Village of Warwick is the center of a pastoral and protected scenic valley honored by Hudson Valley landscape master Jasper Cropsey. The Warwick Valley continues to grow in popularity, stature and influence, as a refuge from urban stresses, where entrepreneurs and farmers, artists and professional, laborers and educators, entertainment celebrities and NYC rescue heroes, all mingle in natures splendor, pausing long enough to stop and say Hello to one another.

The proposed Red Swan Inn at Welling Farm Square is located on the original Welling Pioneer Farm and Dairy property, in the Village of Warwick. The Parcels represent the southernmost entrance into the Village of Warwick from New York State Route 94, and could provide this distinct sense of arrival to the village if developed as a Floating Hospitality Zone based on traditional neighborhood design principles.

Interestingly, the original Red Swan Inn was itself celebrated for bringing a distinct sense of arrival to the village from the countryside. In fact, the Red Swan Inn was considered the original southern gateway of hospitality and welcome for the Village of Warwick.

The two Parcels, Tax Lot 229-1-2 and Tax Lot 229-1-1, are contiguous. One of the Parcels is vacant and unimproved; the other is presently occupied by Walsh's Family Restaurant, formerly known as the Pioneer Restaurant and Dairy. Walsh's may be incorporated into the new Welling Farm Square.

The total area of the Parcels is 460,361 square feet, or approximately 10.57 acres. The Parcels may be accessed from NYS Route 94 (also known as Oakland Avenue), and from Clinton Avenue Extension (via Galloway Road, also known as New York State 17-A).

Architecture

Our goal for the Red Swan Inn and Welling Farm Square is simple - to expand and enhance the look and feel of the Village of Warwick today. To that end, a simple plan revives the idea of a Village Green, and building designs are created to feel "as if they had always been there".

We want to complement what Warwick already has - great shops and neighborhoods, a wonderful Main Street, and a fantastic sense of community. Our plan builds from those elements with a mix of uses that will help make a vibrant new neighborhood for our Village. We envision a place where people can live, guests can visit and shop, and events, whether weddings or meetings, can be held right within the Village.

None of these ideas would matter if the plan didn't feel like Warwick. We have studied the design of the Village, and tried to emulate the things we love about our town. Like Main Street, we've hidden the parking out of view, but we've also allowed ample on street parking. Our streets will have shade trees and be friendly for pedestrians. We have a central green for open space and leisurely strolls. The buildings pay respect to the great designs of our past, while maintaining a fresh appeal for today.

It is our hope that this new neighborhood will be a proud addition to our already wonderful village.

Wednesday March 10, 2010