| Cold Spring is one of many attractive historic towns running along the Hudson frequented by many vacationing New Yorkers. The central area of the village is on the National Register of Historic Places due to its many well-preserved 19th-century buildings. The town grew around the West Point Foundry in 1818. Cold Springs has gracefully transitioned from a minor industrial hub into an attractive historic town that is well preserved and hosts a vibrant main street full of unique privately owned shops and plenty of bars and restaurants to serve tourists, especially in the summer. The City also takes advantage of its gorgeous views down the Hudson with an excellent waterfront park. For the year round resident, schools are good and most things you need are within walking distance. Highland State Park, one of New York’s best, is literally a mile away. I’m not sure I’d want to see this town overdeveloped, but it would be nice to have some more quality urban in-fill outside of main street along with bike infrastructure. Cold Springs also lacks racial and economic diversity. |
URBAN STRENGTHS:
| * Lovely, well maintained historic main street. * Along the Hudson Commuter Line which provides convenient access to towns up and down the eastern side of the Hudson and eventually NYC. * Gorgeous riverside park with amazing views of the Hudson and Catskills Mountains. Parks within the City are pretty limited but Hudson Highland State Park and the Constitution Marsh Audubon Center are less than a mile away. * Culturally there are many restaurants & bars, several community theaters and art galleries. Several nice historic sites as well. * Many wonderful boutiques and locally owned shops as one might expect for a tourist town. But also important neighborhood assets including a drug store, supermarket, public library, post office, and medical center. * Very safe town. * Nice array of decent-good schools all within walking distance. * Great sidewalks and ADA infrastructure along the Main Street and core, but walkability drops off a bit in surrounding streets. |
URBAN WEAKNESSES:
| * Not very dense. Much of the local businesses are supported by tourists. But it gives the locals a level of amenities they could never have without tourist. * Lack of density is also not as much of a factor since everything is still very close in such a small town. * Removed from major employment centers including over 1 hour by driving and 2 hours via transit to NYC. Although West Point is only a 1/2 drive. * No biking Infrastructure here. * Poor economic and racial diversity. Generally a pretty affluent White community. * Generally pretty expensive housing. Limited smaller for sale product in the 200Ks & 300Ks. Most housing selling btwn 400K-600K. * Rentals pretty limited. 1-bedrooms go for around 2K and 2-bedrooms around 3K. * Modern in-fill is very limited and what does exist is generally more auto centric. |
Evaluating our Urban Communities [with a focus on America] 