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Saint Vincent de Paul wins conceptual approval for new Liberty Street building with conditions on materials and signage
Summary
Saint Vincent de Paul presented a proposed 24,000 sq ft building at 12 Liberty Street to house a soup kitchen, warming shelter and 16 supportive housing units; the board granted conceptual approval and asked the applicant to return with material samples, color choices, gate and signage plans and final landscape designs.
Mary Ellen Chuckaro, executive director of Saint Vincent de Paul (Middletown) and operator of Amazing Grace Food Pantry, presented the organization's plan to build a new 24,000‑square‑foot facility at 12 Liberty Street. Chuckaro said the lower level will include a permanent city warming shelter during cold months and shared hygiene facilities; the first floor will contain an expanded soup kitchen and dining room and upper floors will provide 16 supportive housing apartments with laundry facilities on each floor.
Chuckaro described building systems and site features: a concrete/steel basement, elevator from basement through top floor, two central boilers for redundancy, roof‑mounted HVAC units, a generator pad in the parking lot, landscaped outdoor seating, and a gated card‑key entry from the parking lot so visitors will not enter from Liberty Street. The facade plan calls for a stone veneer at street level and an EIFS (stucco veneer) finish above; the applicant said vertical fenestration will be double‑paned, metal framed and likely black in color, but final selections were not yet fixed.
Board questions focused on materials, color, signage, and public appearance. Members asked for a stone sample, final EIFS color number, window frame finishes, final landscaping details and the gate/fencing height and material. Chuckaro said the team would provide the requested samples and mockups.
A board member moved to accept the building placement concept on the lot and asked that the applicant return with samples of colors, stone, landscape plan, gate plan and signage for final review. The motion was seconded and approved by voice vote; the board explicitly limited the vote to conceptual approval and required the follow‑up materials prior to final approval.
Next steps: the applicant will supply material samples, final color selections, signage mockups and a detailed landscape plan for a subsequent meeting when the board will take final action on the design.
