FORMER FARM Joseph Satto, left, and Stefan Martinovic plan to make a large field, located on Hoag Road in Livingston Manor, into an “agri-residential community” called Broadacre Farm. Marge Feuerstein photo
Elite team assembled for Hoag Rd. project
Developers: Plan will address local concerns
By Marge Feuerstein | Manor Ink
Livingston Manor, NY – As reported in our August edition, a major housing development is planned for the 117-acre farm off Hoag Road in this hamlet.
In a recent meeting at the site with cofounders Joseph Satto and Stefan Martinovic, Manor Ink learned more about the proposed project, called Broadacre Farm, and about the developers behind it. Satto is the owner of Fresh Air Reality, based in Accord, NY. Martinovic is a Westchester-based real estate developer.
In addition to Satto and Martinovic, the project’s third partner is Jon Eklund, owner of Ecostruct, a sustainable building firm in Brooklyn. Tom and Anna Roberts, of the Manor-based Homestedt store, will act as Broadacre Farm’s key design partners. They will work with Studio Tack, a New York City-based development group who are the team behind the upscale Scribner’s Catskill Lodge in Hunter, NY, and many other hospitality projects. Steve Gabriel, an “agroforestry specialist” from Mecklenburg, NY, will create Broadacre’s agricultural program and Karin Ursula of Karin Ursula Landscapes in West Kill, NY, will develop the project’s landscaping and gardens.
When asked why the developers chose the hamlet for their ambitious plan, Martinovic said he had been skiing in Hunter and going to Hawley, PA, for years. “That led me to this corner of the map,” he said. “I was taken with the natural beauty, culture and fly fishing in Livingston Manor.”
SYLVAN SPLENDOR The developers were drawn to the area by its “natural beauty.” Marge Feuerstein photo
In information distributed to the neighbors of the project site, Broadacre Farm is referred to as a “conservation subdivision” that will “preserve open space and the natural environment, develop an organic farm that uses regenerative agricultural practices and create publicly accessible open space that promotes community engagement.”
Currently, the plan is to build three clusters of nine three-bedroom homes on lots with footprints of 1,500 to 2,900 square feet. This would leave large tracts of land as usable community space. Because much of the project site experiences wetness and cascading mountain run-off in the spring months and during heavy rains, the developers intend to create a comprehensive stormwater management plan that includes a multi-acre retention lake as well as strategic planting of orchards and tree varieties with high water absorption properties.
The project’s sewers and access roads are also a concern, but Satto and Martinovic said they have been assured by Supervisor Rob Eggleton that the town sewer line, recently upgraded, would be able to handle the increased flow. “We’re also well aware that all internal roads will have to be built, maintained and plowed by the development,” Satto said. “We would consider upgrading Hoag Road, if feasible.”
Following approval of the project by the town’s Planning Board, a few months for design refinement and permit acquisition will be needed before construction of Broadacre Farm can begin, likely in 2021. Since much of the housing construction will be done off-site, Satto and Martinovic hope to be able to build and do landscaping and infrastructure work at the same time.
“We hope to have a large chunk of the houses occupied by the end of 2021,” Martinovic said.