Poughkeepsie ZBA opens hearing on 6‑story proposal at 306–316 Main Street, then adjourns to Feb. 11

The City of Poughkeepsie Zoning Board of Appeals on Jan. 14 opened a public hearing on an application to build a six‑story mixed‑use building at 306–316 Main Street and then adjourned the application and public hearing to its Feb. 11 meeting.

The applicant, represented by Natalie Quinn of KARC Planning Consultants, is seeking an area variance to allow a six‑story building where the new zoning code currently references five stories (68 feet) as the standard. Quinn told the board the proposal combines two parcels into roughly a half‑acre site with about 120 residential units — primarily one‑bedroom units (75), about 40 studios and five two‑bedroom units — and just under 15,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor. Quinn said the project team previously received a partial approval in 2021 for a portion of the site and that a planning‑board determination is required before the ZBA can act on the variance.

Why it matters: The requested height variance would allow additional housing capacity downtown but raises questions about how the new zoning code defines height in feet versus stories and about whether the change would affect the historic character of the block along Main Street.

Project details…