An international resort developer with projects that incorporate mineral spas into the natural landscape has purchase options on 50 acres in Sharon Springs.
Hoshino Resorts, a 109-year-old Japan-based hospitality company with 60 resorts worldwide, has filed an application for a Planned Commercial Development with the Village of Sharon Springs for an onsen ryokan, a Japanese-style hot spring inn, on property owned by Denise Kelly and Glenn Goldfarb at 247 Main Street, and David Cunningham on Beechwood Road on the backside on the Kelly-Goldfarb property.
Ms. Kelly is deputy mayor for the Village of Sharon Springs.
She recused herself from Hoshino reps’ discussions with trustees Thursday and left the room. In the absence of Mayor Doug Plummer, who’s on leave because of health issues, Village Attorney Michelle Kennedy ran that portion of the meeting.
In order for the proposed project to move ahead, Libby Clark, attorney for Hoshino, said the village will need to grant it PDD status to “harmonize the zoning.”
Thursday, the Village Board agreed to act as lead agency and refer the request to the Joint Planning Board and County Planning Board for consideration.
The JPB has 45 days to issue its recommendation, then the Village Board has 90 days to issue a decision.
If the project is granted PDD status, the JPB will take over review, a process Ms. Clark said will take 1-2 years in part because of the property’s unique historical status: it’s home to the Magnesium Temple.
If approved, the resort would be Hoshino’s first project in the United States.
The onsen ryokan concept focuses on a “immersive, holistically designed Japanese experience.”
“Hoshino Resorts seeks to work in collaboration with the existing local nature not only to reduce environmental impacts, but showcase the natural beauty of that area…” the application reads.
In Sharon Springs that would mean up to 40 bungalows on the ridge up behind the Kelly-Goldfarb property not visible from below.
While the resort would include a restaurant, café, bar, and walking trails they’d only be for overnight guests; there would be no day-use.
Guests would be met at the gate and escorted into the site over interior roadways.
Deliveries would be from the Beechwood Road side of the property, where staff housing could also be located, Ms. Clark said.
Larry Novik of Bonacio Development said the project will only develop 20-25 percent of the 50 acres; Mike Ingersoll of the The LA Group said as a PDD, the spacing of the bungalows will be less than permitted by zoning.
The project caught JPB members, trustees, and neighbors by surprise.
“It’s quite a concept, but why did the Village Board only hear about it Tuesday,” said Trustee Paul Novko. “It’s kind of putting us on the spot. How long ago was it conceived?”
Ms. Kennedy didn’t answer the question.
Her focus, she said, has been “procedural”--guiding the process of the village’s first potential PDD.
According to Schoharie County Clerk records, the option for the Kelly-Goldfarb was dated April 12, 2023 with the transfer of title and closing on or about May 12, 2024, and recorded at the County Clerk’s office on September 29, 2023.
Trustee Joyce Slater asked how Hoshino learned about Sharon Springs.
Sharon Springs is on a long list of places with mineral springs, Ms. Clark said.
“Its storied history makes it very attractive,” she said.
Another spa developer long looking to build on Sharon Springs’ history is Sharon Springs Inc, which owns the Imperial Baths and the Columbia Hotel.
Since 2006, SSI has proposed nearly a dozen different versions of a Korean-style spa at the Imperial Baths.
Owner Kysung Cho is now seeking a special use permit from the JPB to convert the Inhalation Building next door to the Imperial Baths into a 10-room hotel with indoor and outdoor spas.