State Parks Purchases Hudson Walkway Parcel

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (State Parks) has purchased a half-acre parcel adjacent to the Poughkeepsie entrance of the Walkway Over the Hudson State Park from the Open Space Institute (OSI), which will provide growing room to improve visitor services at the 1.28-mile linear park.

State Parks purchased the parcel for $550,000 with funds from the Environmental Protection Fund.

The parcel at the intersection of Washington Street and Parker Avenue includes a vacant 7,500-square-foot warehouse and manufacturing building as well as an adjacent empty lot.  State Parks will conduct a feasibility study to determine potential uses for the site, including park offices, public restrooms, streetscape improvements and equipment storage. The park office is now housed in a construction trailer at the Highland entrance to the Walkway and has portable restrooms at the Poughkeepsie entrance.

OSI purchased the property from a private owner last summer with the goal of conveying it to State Parks. The strategically located parcel had been a high priority for inclusion in the park since it opened in 2009.

The Walkway Over the Hudson provides access to the Hudson River’s breathtaking landscape for pedestrians, hikers, joggers, bicyclists and people with disabilities. The bridge deck stands 212 feet above the river’s surface and is 6,768 feet (1.28 miles) long, making it the longest, elevated pedestrian bridge in the world. The Walkway has hosted nearly 3 million visits since it opened in October 2009.