Bassett Proposes

Parking Garage

COOPERSTOWN – Bassett Hospital proposed adding 350 parking spaces, including an underground parking garage, during a meeting with neighbors, Mayor Jeff Katz and Village Trustees in the Clark Auditorium last night.

“This came about after years and years of conversation, thought and public comment,” said Katz. “If this goes through, that will be more parking than Doubleday and the business district combined.”

Proposed as a three-part plan, the project would begin with 145 spaces in a surface parking lot on Riverside Drive, cul-de-sac off of Susquehanna Avenue.  Bassett owns three houses on the property, which would be demolished.

An additional 200 spaces in an underground lot would be built into the hillside, making the structure will be concealed and unobtrusive. “Having it underground will really lessen the aesthetic impact to the village,” said Katz.

The underground lot would connect to a new building, proposed as a two-story clinic, with space for patient, doctor and educational use.

Though a draft of the project was submitted for feedback, no timeline has been given for the project, which will need to undergo design reviews, traffic studies and receive Village approval.

“This shows that Bassett wants to be in the village, and we want them to remain in the village,” he said. “This is a good project and the village supports it.”