For nearly 150 years, the Wellington Hotel has stood at the heart of Pine Hill, a relic of the Catskills’ golden age of tourism. Once a grand 12,000-square-foot landmark, it has spent decades in disrepair—windows broken, floors buckling, its once-stately wrap-around porch deteriorating with time. Now, a determined group of local residents is working to bring it back to life in the spirit of creating more affordable housing and community spaces. 

If all goes according to plan, construction will begin in March 2026 and take less than a year to complete.

The grassroots effort to revive the Wellington began in December 2022, when 20 Pine Hill residents pooled their resources to purchase the rundown hotel for $325,000. The purchase was made through Wellington Blueberry LLC, a multi-member entity formed to begin the redevelopment process. The long-term plan is for ownership to transfer to Friends of Pine Hill Historic District, a nonprofit created to oversee the property and similar preservation efforts in the hamlet. Their vision? A community hub that provides affordable housing, a cafe, and a small grocery market—filling critical needs in a town with limited food options and a 0% rental vacancy rate, according to U.S. Census data.

“We weren’t sure we could save it,” said Jan Jaffe, one of the project’s officers. “But it’s worth saving.”

The ambitious project comes with an equally ambitious price tag—roughly $7 million, with $4.5 million in hard rehabilitation costs alone, plus expenses for developers, engineers, and other specialists.

“The biggest challenge will be lifting the building to install new foundation walls that can withstand a significant flood event,” said Mark Thaler of Thaler Reilly Wilson Architecture & Preservation, which is overseeing the project.

The group has already made significant progress. Since purchasing the building, volunteers have hauled away 30 dumpsters of debris, and nearly $200,000 has been invested in structural reports, architectural drawings, and stabilization work. A flood mitigation study, conducted by the Catskill Watershed Corporation, was also completed.

To fund the effort, the group is leveraging federal historic tax credits and awaiting a decision on New York Forward funding. They have also secured a $1.6 million Restore New York grant, obtained through Ulster County. RUPCO, a nonprofit affordable housing developer, has joined to assist with redevelopment and fundraising.

Built in 1882, the three-story Italianate structure retains many of its historic features, including parquet floors, a grand staircase, transoms above the doors, and oversized windows. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002 and designated part of Pine Hill’s Historic District in 2010. Planned updates will preserve its architectural details while integrating modern heating, cooling, sprinklers, and lighting.

“Seeing it restored will inspire further investment in Pine Hill,” Thaler said.

For many, the Wellington’s revival is about more than preserving a historic structure—it’s about shaping Pine Hill’s future.

“The lack of housing here is sapping our civic vitality,” Jaffe said. “Business owners can’t find workers, and that limits what’s possible for the town’s economy.”

Beyond housing, the project will introduce new community spaces. The cafe and grocery store will address the area’s status as a food desert.

“There’s no reliable place to get coffee or food outside of the Pine Hill Community Center,” Jaffe said. “We envision the cafe as a gathering place, a true community living room.”

Plans also include landscaping improvements, with a walking path, patio, and native plants reintroduced to the site.

For Kaden Massey, a hospitality worker at Urban Cowboy Lodge in Big Indian, the project speaks to the region’s housing crisis.

“It wouldn’t be possible for me to live here if Urban Cowboy didn’t provide housing,” said Massey, who moved from Texas after working in Hawaii.

With funding in place, construction will move quickly. The Wellington’s restoration is part of a larger Main Street revitalization effort, which includes sidewalk repairs, new street lighting, and an upcoming rail trail connecting to Pine Hill.

“This is just one example of the many things the town and community are doing right now to show that appropriate-scale development is possible here,” Jaffe said.

For longtime residents, the Wellington’s rebirth is a testament to small-town persistence.

“At first, we didn’t even know if we’d keep the building or tear it down,” said Gigi Loizzo, one of the original investors. “But as we started working on it, it became clear—this is exactly what Pine Hill needs.”