Tuxedo Park Master Plan
Project Stats
- Location
Tuxedo, New York
- Size
1,200 acres
- Expertise
Planning a new community in a uniquely bucolic setting
Set in a deeply wooded, rugged area an hour north of New York City by train, the master planned community of Tuxedo, New York, has long attracted visitors and residents for its abundance of natural beauty and recreational opportunities. Tuxedo Reserve — a proposed 1,195-unit, master-planned community abutting Tuxedo Park — is spread across more than 1,200 acres of land adjacent to the village. The plan comprises several distinct neighborhoods surrounded by pristine views and open space, with a diverse range of housing opportunities spanning from cottages and townhouses to manor and estate homes, as well as rental apartments.
The team was tasked with analyzing the site and complex ecosystem and developing a thoughtfully conceived master plan. With a site characterized by steep topography, extensive wetlands, and wildlife habitat corridors, the team’s first role was to establish a clear understanding of the qualities of this unique site. Using geographic information systems (GIS) to analyze the slopes, wetlands, and wildlife migration patterns, the project team determined the most appropriate locations to build, with a focus on identifying locations that would preserve and enhance the natural beauty of the site.
A sophisticated and context-responsive development framework
The resulting plan preserves approximately 800 acres of open space and clusters homes into a series of neighborhood centers and hamlets, each with its own “village green” and separated by additional natural open space. A town center at the heart of the community contains 30,000 square feet of retail centering on a grocery store, as well as a health and racquet club, professional offices, condominiums and townhouses. These community amenities are linked to surrounding open space and form the organizing framework for the plan.
The scope of work also included a code book of architectural and landscape controls. This approach leverages a “Smart Code” zoning framework that establishes specific setback, lot size, frontage, and other guidelines across a range of zones including rural, single-family, apartments and corner stores, and main street, with a specific focus on accommodating the complex topography of the Tuxedo Reserve site. Additionally, the team designed a series of bio-filtration swales to protect the site’s delicate water ecology.
An ambitious vision comes to fruition
Given its close proximity to a commuter rail station and recreational amenities including three lakes, a golf course, hunting, hiking, swimming, and skiing areas as well as a state park and forest, Tuxedo Reserve offers a uniquely well-conceived residential environment in the greater New York City region. With phased elements now under construction, this ambitious development will provide an alternative type of neighborhood to typical subdivisions surrounding the New York metro area.
