Kirkland breaks ground

Last Night The Kirkland ground breaking ceremony took place, a historic building which has sat vacant for decades will reopen thanks to the hard work of the Sottile administration, I thank him for his tireless efforts to make this project a reality and bring the Kirkland back to the community, I also would like to thank RUPCO and Kevin O' Conner who are restoring this great building, this is great news for Sottile this is a project that hits home with him and has been a focus on his administration, most of all this is a win for all of Kingston.


The Kirkland Hotel, located on the corner of Clinton Avenue and Main Street, will be renovated within the next year, and will offer an historic pub space with a handmade wooden bar on the ground floor, and a restaurant with seating for 85, on the first floor, and office space and apartments on the floors above.

The hotel was constructed in 1899 and served as a boarding house until 1917. In 1922, the new owners established it as a hotel and added the restaurant. The hotel accommodations were ended in 1968, and until 1983, a restaurant inhabited the building. It has been vacant since.

RUPCO Executive Director Kevin O'Connor said the building represented a great part of the city. Were making a link from 100 years ago, and not only to today and our generation, but I believe were putting in motion the chance that this building is going to be here 100 years from now, said O'Connor. We've taken some missteps and lost some buildings, but this time I think were getting it right.

Kingston Mayor James Sottile has strong family ties to the hotel. His father worked as a bartender there for 25 years. Sottile became emotional while sharing his dream come true of the renovation of this building.

It's about a community... said the mayor, trying to hold back tears. It's about a community coming together to make dreams come true. If it wasn't for the commitment of this community, our residents love for this community, this dream would not be coming true today.

Congressman Maurice Hinchey secured $1 million toward the renovations and Senator William Larkin secured $500,000 toward the $4 million renovation price tag.