CATSKILLS ESSENCE A large barn on the Hoag Rd. property sought by developers will become a clubhouse for a community called Broadacre Farms. broadacrefarm.org photo
Major development planned for Manor farm?
Hoag Rd. website touts town as ‘cultural hub’
By Marge Feuerstein | Manor Ink Mentor
Livingston Manor, NY – If promotional material on the web is correct, coming to this hamlet in 2021 will be an “agri-residential community” of 117 acres and 26 private homes.
Called Broadacre Farms, the development will be located on Hoag Rd., and will include 70 wooded acres with an additional 10 that will be reserved for farming. The property was once a dairy farm but its fields are currently used only for hay.
The developers plan to hire or partner with a local farmer to grow vegetables and fruits for the community on the development’s farm, similar to a “hyper local CSA.” The farm will be funded by the Broadacre homeowners, and will also have egg-laying chickens, alpacas and a few other low-maintenance animals.
Also planned is an apple orchard, a community playground, a fish pond and a hillside infinity pool and spa. The large barn currently on the site will be turned into a community clubhouse which will be a center for activities like yoga, stargazing and barbecues.
Possible delays
Residents on High Street whose homes are adjacent to the property sought by the developers of Broadacre Farms are not only concerned about the project’s impact on their lives. For several years, eagles have nested on the southern expanse of the property, and it is likely that construction of new homes would disturb the protected birds.
When contacted about the nest, state DEC biologist Susan Booth-Binczik said, “We don’t have any record of an eagle nest there, so we would be interested in documenting it, particularly if it is active this year.” DEC acknowledgement of the nest would not prevent the Broadacre project from going forward, but it would delay construction during nesting season.
“It’s just a shame to change the landscape where there is also other wildlife, not just the eagles,” said one resident.
Broadacre intends to build 26 custom homes on the property that “embody the essence of life in the Catskills.” Some will be a-frames, or “Ayfrayms,” that sleep eight and start at $699,000; others will be more conventional larger homes, called “Junipers,” costing $899,000.
The development company’s website touts the benefits of life in Livingston Manor by quoting Condé Nast Traveler magazine. “Like New York’s Hudson and Phoenicia before it,” the copy reads, “Livingston Manor is set to become the next frontier for life, post-Brooklyn.” The site calls the hamlet “the cultural hub of the Western Catskills.”
Neighbors around the site of the proposed Hoag Rd. development have voiced some concern about what they characterized as “a very inadequate road in and out of the property.” They also cited possible drainage and septic issues.
“Those particular issues should not become concerns,” Supervisor Rob Eggleton said. “The Town of Rockland now controls and maintains 202 miles of roads and has no intention of taking over any more. Anyone considering developing an area within the town will be obliged to develop and maintain all internal and access roads themselves.”
As for the issue of sewage, Eggleton said the property in question is contiguous with a sewer line and could be folded into the current Livingston Manor system.
Thus far, however, the Town of Rockland Planning Board has not received an official proposal from the developers of Broadacre Farms, and Manor Ink efforts to reach the developers were unsuccessful. Signs at the property indicate that its sale is still pending.
COUNTRY LIVING With spacious decks, large windows and multiple skylights, “rustic-modern” wood beams and, in some models, two-car garages, the various styles of homes promoted by the developers of Broadacre Farms offer second home buyers a luxurious variation of the more humble bungalow colony experience of the Catskills’ golden era of hospitality. The “Ayfraym” residence, left, and the “Juniper” are just two of the Broadacre home models that will cost buyers considerably more than their bungalow predecessors, some approaching a purchase price of six figures.
Manor Ink staff members also contributed to this story.