Plan approved for credit union at Coppola's on 9
Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union's plan to construct a location where Coppola's On 9 currently operates will proceed.
The Town of Poughkeepsie planning board approved the site plan and architectural review for the planned construction project, which calls for demolishing the Italian restaurant, a Route 9 building with a history dating back to the 18th century.
Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union is "coordinating this with (Coppola's) on the transferal" of ownership, said Tony Rohrmeier, executive vice president for the credit union.
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What will become of the restaurant as a business remains unclear. A representative with Coppola's could not be reached before the Journal's deadline Friday. In September, John Coppola, one of the restaurant's owners, said any plans to close the nearly 30-year-old restaurant at 2373 South Road were "all rumors." The Coppola family also operates Coppola's Ristorante in Hyde Park.
The planning board approved both the site plan and the architectural review in a 5-0 vote Thursday night.
The construction project would take into account the site's history, which dates back to before the founding of the United States.
Long before it was Coppola's, the site served as the Westervelt House, according to town historian John Pinna. The family acted as toll collectors along the King's Highway, which would become Route 9, and continued working as toll collectors following the American Revolution.
The site was also a common meeting place for people travelling across the Hudson River, Pinna said in September.
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Despite the history of the site, renovations made to the building throughout the 1900s disqualify it from any formal designation by the Town of Poughkeepsie Historic Preservation Commission, he said.
The project would result in the demolition of the building coupled with efforts to preserve elements from the original Westervelt House. Features such as wood and brick would be reincorporated as decoration in the credit union branch.
The structure would resemble the Westervelt House and will feature information about the site's history within the branch.
Factoring efforts to conserve parts of the original building and construction, the branch could open by January 2018.
"We first need to go through closing, managing the construction schedule and evaluating what exactly remains of the original building," Rohrmeier said.
Geoffrey Wilson: gwilson@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-437-4882, Twitter: Geoff_LW