PLATTSBURGH — After being tied up in litigation for several years now, Prime Plattsburgh, LLC (Prime Companies) has decided to pivot away from its controversial housing development for the City of Plattsburgh’s Durkee Street parking lot.

Mayor Chris Rosenquest made the announcement in a memo sent to local media outlets Tuesday afternoon saying “the developer was still interested in a project but did not intend to construct the specific project as approved by the Boards.”

Prime’s proposed project would have constructed 109 residential market rate housing units, 13,400 square feet of commercial space and sufficient parking for a private sector investment of over $18 million dollars in downtown Plattsburgh.

The project, called the Durkee Lot Mixed-Use Development (DLMUD), was a major keystone of the city’s $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) grant that was awarded by the state in 2016, and previously had $4 million of the DRI funds committed to it for offsetting construction costs.

It’s unclear how the committed funds will be used moving forward.

Rosenquest said last August that if the DLMUD project did not come to fruition, it will be up to Empire State Development on if and how those funds can be dispersed.

“Our city has a strong relationship with our state partners and we’ve been in constant contact with those partners. Everyone is on the same page: We want housing development, we need housing development, and we look forward to seeing what’s next for this project and for this site,” the mayor said then.

LITIGATION BACKGROUND

Despite the need for more housing in the city, Prime’s project was not given a warm welcome by every resident.

In early 2021, when Prime’s development plans received the required approvals from the city’s planning and zoning boards, the approvals were challenged in court by local opponents of the project such as the Plattsburgh Citizens Coalition (PCC).

Following a comprehensive decision by the Clinton County Supreme Court in 2022 — in which most of the objections raised by the project’s opponents were dismissed by the court and two objections were sustained — the project’s prior board approvals were invalidated.

The city then pursued an appeal with the Appellate Division, Third Department, which issued a decision in August of 2023 unanimously confirming that the city’s SEQRA review was sufficient with respect to the project’s effects on the habitat of the Common Loon, but with a two-judge dissent, the majority held that the potential impacts of soil removal from the site required additional planning.

With this two-judge dissent from a five-judge panel, the city had a unique opportunity to pursue a further appeal to the Court of Appeals, the highest court in New York.

In early 2024, the Court of Appeals confirmed its jurisdiction and established a scheduling order for the submission of the parties’ briefs. Soon after this jurisdictional determination, however, the city received information from Prime confirming — for the first time — its plans to stop pursuing the project.

‘MOVING FORWARD’

This pivot from Prime subsequently removed the basis for the city’s appeal and led to the city’s recent letter to the Court of Appeals advising that it was abandoning the appeal as required due to the project changes, Rosenquest wrote in his memo.

“Moving forward, the city remains committed to the appropriate development of this upland parking lot and has done significant work to prepare for the development of this parcel by a third-party developer,” the mayor continued.

“Through continued talks with New York State and local and regional developers, the City remains committed to improve housing, increase waterfront access, expand cultural spaces, and grow economic development in our downtown and throughout the City of Plattsburgh. This change presents a unique opportunity for the City of Plattsburgh, our downtown businesses, and for the attractiveness of our historic downtown,” he said.

“Although we don’t yet have all of the details of the new project, we remain confident that Empire State Development and Prime Plattsburgh, LLC are ready and excited to pursue a development opportunity that would fulfill the goals of continuing the revitalization efforts of our downtown.”

Rosenquest further said communities “like ours rarely get a second bite at the apple.”

“This is a unique second opportunity that we simply cannot afford to miss. It’s time to capitalize on our potential and this second chance.”

PCC did not respond to a request for comment by press time.