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Planning board declares intent to serve as lead agency for proposed 38‑unit Union/Franklin mixed‑use project and keeps public hearing open

City of Middletown Planning Board · January 9, 2026

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Summary

The planning board declared its intent to serve as lead agency under the State Environmental Quality Review process for a proposed five‑story, 38‑unit mixed‑use building at 12–14 Union Street and 4–8 Franklin Street, and voted to keep the public hearing open while CPL engineering review and EAF notifications proceed.

The City of Middletown Planning Board voted to declare its intent to serve as lead agency for environmental review and to keep the public hearing open on a proposed five‑story mixed‑use building at 12–14 Union Street and 4–8 Franklin Street.

Jian Hu of JH Architecture described the conceptual plan for a five‑story building with ground‑floor retail and 36 new residential units stacked on the second through fifth floors, plus two residential units retained in an existing three‑story building, for a total of 38 units. Hu said the lot is roughly 0.885 acre and that the overall design complies with zoning set‑backs and height limits; he provided parking calculations showing 59 spaces including three ADA spaces. "We propose a 5 story ... that give us total 36 units for the whole building plus 2 units for existing building. So that will deliver total 38 units," Hu said.

Board members asked detailed questions about demolition of an existing one‑story masonry/warehouse structure (Hu said the owner reported roof water leakage and proposed demolition), required asbestos reporting and demo permits (Building Inspector Sixto Martinez noted a demo permit and asbestos report are required), stormwater management and civil engineering review, and future ARB review for facade and materials. Several board members requested detailed floor plans showing unit sizes and configurations; Hu said internal plans are conceptual and will be developed after planning board approval.

The board agreed to follow its engineer’s guidance: CPL will review the project’s Environmental Assessment Form (EAF) and determine whether other agencies (for example, the Department of Environmental Conservation) must be notified. The board then voted to keep the public hearing open and adopted a resolution declaring its intent to serve as lead agency for SEQR/SECRA coordination; the roll call votes were unanimous among members present. The public hearing remains open pending CPL comments and any required interagency coordination.