Windham builder Eric Vaughn unveiled plans to build 114 homes in Hunter aimed largely at the second-home market, along with a 45-room hotel, a 100-seat restaurant and event space, in what town officials said would be one of the largest developments there in decades.

“Four Seasons Hunter,” located off Main Street close to Scribner’s Catskill Lodge, would include 72 townhouse units and 42 detached single-family homes, according to Vaughn, whose eponymous Windham construction firm says it aims to build “the personalized home of your dreams.”

“These homes, they’re not going to be inexpensive homes, but they’re going to be affordable homes for people that want to get away,” Vaughn said at the Town Hall hearing. “I would assume the majority of them will be second homes. Full-time residents, obviously, are welcome as well.”

Vaughn’s plans would require the village to annex 127 acres of land that he owns in the Town of Hunter adjacent to the 14 acres he owns in the village, securing the development’s access to village water and sewer systems. The proposal came to light at a sparsely attended public hearing Tuesday on the annexation plan.

“The annexation is the first step in the process,” said Allyson Phillips, the Albany lawyer who represents Vaughn. “We presented the concept plan in contemplation of being able to connect to municipal water and sewer. If we have a favorable determination on the annexation, we would go back, likely refine our plans a little bit more, and the next step would be to go right into the Village of Hunter Planning Board to start that process.”

Town Supervisor Sean Mahoney said in an interview after the hearing that he first heard of the proposed development more than a year ago and received the annexation request in May. 

“We heard that somebody had purchased that parcel and was looking to develop it,” Mahoney said. It’s been decades since a similar-sized development was built in Hunter, he said.

“When Scribner’s opened, that was an existing hotel that was renovated and sort of re-launched,” Mahoney said. “But we definitely can use hotels in our town. There’s a shortage of bed space in our town.”

Scribner’s, which opened in 2016 on the site of the former Scribner’s Hollow Motor Lodge, charges a minimum of $266 a night for rooms that include access to amenities such as a pool, sauna, lounge and garden.   

One Hunter resident at the hearing, Alexa Kwiatkowski, doubted that the village could supply enough municipal water for the development. But Village Mayor Alan Higgins said the village just drilled a new well at Dolan’s Lake Park.

“We are very close to adding a lot of water to our system,” he said. 

The village could supply 180,000 gallons of water per day out of the new well “on the low side,” said Village Trustee Jason Dileo.

Another resident, Robert Janiszewski, said the town would lose out on taxes from the property owners because village property owners pay less town taxes due to the addition of village taxes. Higgins countered that the town would end up with more in the long run should the project be completed.

“It’s a reduced tax rate if it’s a property that lies within the village, and then we have our village tax rate,” Higgins said. “There’s still town taxes that get paid. I would say the first two houses take care of any taxes that will be lost by reducing the rate of the vacant land. That’s the difference, because it’s not assessed for much. It’s vacant property, it hasn’t been used for many years.”

Vaughn is a former partner of Windham Mountain Retreat who has operated Vaughn Construction since 2002, according to the firm’s website. He said at the hearing that the Hunter project could help spark economic growth.

“I’ve been building homes in Windham for about 20 years, and I’ve seen the demand shift over to Hunter,” Vaughn said. “I think there’s a lot of potential. I also think something like this will bring in other businesses. Windham is getting a little bit priced out.”  

Connor Greco is a staff reporter for The Overlook covering Windham, Hunter and surrounding Greene County communities. Send correspondence to connor@theoverlooknews.com.