Year in review: Pine Plains advances Town Hall plans and new businesses

PINE PLAINS — In 2025, Pine Plains advanced plans for a new Town Hall and welcomed new business development, even as the community grappled with the loss of its only grocery store.

The Pine Plains Town Board began in earnest this year the planning stages for a new Town Hall building. Officials plan to construct the facility at 8 N. Main St., neighboring the Bank of Millbrook branch at the intersection of Main and Church Street.

Representatives from LaBella Associates, an architectural firm that frequently works with municipalities, presented draft drawings of the proposed Town Hall in October.

Eastern Region Vice President Pasquale Marchese led the presentation, sharing proposed floor plans and a conceptual sketch of the building’s exterior.

Marchese proposed a single-story structure with a basement for additional storage. Under the current concept, each department of town government would have its own office, arranged in a horseshoe-like configuration around a large central room that would serve as both a courtroom and a board meeting space.

The building and zoning departments would be clustered in one corner of the building, with a dedicated entrance designed to shorten the distance the public must walk to conduct business with those offices.

The proposed design encompasses approximately 6,000 square feet, significantly larger than the existing Town Hall, which contains 2,468 square feet of floor area. The current Town Hall, located at 3284 Route 199, was built in 1970 and houses town government offices, including the courthouse and police department.

LaBella Associates representative Pasquale Marchese said designers aimed to ensure the proposed new Town Hall would fit the character of downtown Pine Plains. Photo provided

The plans presented by LaBella AssociatesSource: The Town of Pine Plains

Town officials also undertook a sidewalk safety audit in 2025, which identified 385 hazards. In September, Town Board members indicated they would work with a grant writer to seek funding for repairs.

Meanwhile, the Pine Plains Planning Board spent much of the year reviewing two major development proposals: a 50,000-square-foot lumber mill proposed by The Hudson Company and the town’s first retail cannabis dispensary.

The Hudson Company has operated for years in a rented Pine Plains location, but representatives said the business had outgrown its current space and sought to build a new facility to accommodate construction operations, a showroom and office space.

After eight months of site plan review and public hearings, the Planning Board approved the mill at its December meeting. The new facility will be located at 2246 Route 83 along South Main Street, south of the Stewart’s Shops gas station.

And Upstate Pines — a dispensary based in Red Hook, New York — also received approval to open a cannabis shop at 7723 S. Main St.

The dispensary will be located at the site of the historic weigh station building, where farmers used to gather to weigh their crops and livestock for sale. The proposal includes tentative plans to adapt other aging buildings on the property for future uses, such as a grocery store or an ice cream parlor.

A grocery store may soon be sorely needed in Pine Plains, as Peck’s Market all but closed over the past year.

Shelves grew increasingly bare, hours became inconsistent and sparse, and the store quietly shuttered in late September, with no public comment from owners Don and Charlene Peck.

Concerns have since emerged about the impact the loss may have on nearby businesses.

Source: Dutchess County Board of Elections

Pine Plains also saw an exceptionally close race for town supervisor. Incumbent Republican Brian Walsh was re-elected after the contest triggered a recount.

The Dutchess County Board of Elections later certified the results, confirming that Walsh defeated Democratic challenger Kevin Walsh by a margin of eight votes.