Could a baker’s dozen of “glamped” Tiny Homes be the solution that finally moves Sharon Springs Inc’s spa plans forward?
The developers think so.
There have been as many as a dozen different versions of the project since SSI purchased the Imperial Baths, and Adler and Columbia Hotels in 2005.
In June 2016, SSI held a “groundbreaking” on the front steps of the Imperial Baths with plans to open it in the spring of 2018.
Stalled by financing and other problems, that never happened and work has stopped.
Wednesday, SSI reps and its president, Kyu Sung Cho, brought their COVID version of the project to the Joint Planning Board.
What had been phase one of the project—a 50-room hotel on the site of the former Studio North, has been pushed back to phase two, said attorney Joanne Crum.
Phase one is now 13 year-round, “Tiny Homes” alongside the Imperial Baths and the former dance studio.
The homes would be about 12 feet by 22 feet, architect Clemens McGiver said.
They’d have water and sewer hookup and each would have its own deck with an outdoor, private two-person sulphur pool.
“Glamping” is the name for upscaled camping and the homes would be on wheels.
Water for the pools would be pumped from Brimstone Creek and stored in a water tower that shouldn’t be visible from the street, Mr. McGiver said.
Parking would be across the street in the lot next to the Columbia.
“We’ve been here before and we’ll be here again,” Ms. Crum said. “Life changes.”
Mr. McGiver said the tiny homes would be in place for “maybe 18 months, if we get lucky” with financing and COVID; the former Studio North would also be temporarily renovated as a small, socially-distanced restaurant and Korean BBQ for the tiny homes’ guests and the general public.
There would also be a garden and according to SSI’s COVID-amended business plan, there would be multiple rooms in the Imperial Baths for massages, body scrubs, and related services.
Construction would begin within one month of financing approval with the target date for having the tiny homes in place June 1, 2021, Mr. McGiver said.
Phase two, when fully open, would feature a dozen saunas, and bathing pools, a Korean BBQ café, three juice bars, and services such as massages and body scrubs.
Construction would begin a month after phase 1 begins operations with the target date April 2023.
“There have been a lot of stumbling blocks to this project,” not the least of which is now COVID and its social-distancing requirements, Ms. Crum said.
“But Mr. Cho is absolutely committed to making this project work. This is a way to get something up and running and develop a client base.”
SSI has invested approximately $7 million to date in the project, according to the business plan, with another $3.5 million needed to complete it.
That figure includes working capital of $375,000 for the period of startup.
Once the project is up and running, SSI will receive a $1 million Empire State Development reimbursement grant approved in 2009.
SSI hasn’t yet taken the idea to the Village Code enforcement Officer Cliff Dorrough, but JPB members expressed some concern over whether the 13 homes would be considered temporary; yes, they’re on wheels, they said, but water and sewer hookup sort of calls that into question, said Chairman Ray Parsons.
Both Mr. McGiver and Sandy MacKay, who’s working on SSI’s business plan and financing, stressed the homes won’t be permanent.
“This property is too valuable,” Mr. McGiver said.
SSI and the JPB hope to begin an environmental review in December.
Though the JPB typically doesn’t meet then, “We don’t want to be the reason you’re held up,” Mr. Parsons said.