BLOOMINGBURG � A major new development in Bloomingburg could be just the ticket when it comes to solving the village's sewage problems, according to developer Shalom Lamm. Chestnut Ridge, a 398-unit townhome development, which would straddle Winterton Road in the area south of Main Street, will include a new waste water treatment plant. Lamm says that the project needs to have a good wastewater system, so it only made sense to combine the needs of the village with those of the development.

"We're going to be building a state-of-the-art, first-rate wastewater treatment plant," Lamm says.

The Bloomingburg wastewater system is in such a state of disrepair, says Lamm, that the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation has gotten involved in the situation.

"The [Bloomingburg] wastewater treatment plant is in cardiac arrest," Lamm says.

The situation is so dire that the village could end up incurring significant fines by the state, as some of the effluent is currently leeching into the nearby Shawangunk Kill. Lamm feels that the development would effectively solve this problem, while at the same time creating the infrastructure necessary for the development to go forward.

Lamm says that, since Chestnut Ridge needs its own plant, bringing the village itself into the mix only made sense, and would solve what he refers to as an "existential threat" to Bloomingburg.

The Chestnut Ridge project also follows a pattern established by Lamm's development firm, Black Creek Holdings, in which the company seeks to win the approval of the community at large, through the incorporation of improvements to the local community. Black Creek has also been more open to public debate than have other developers in the area, a strategy which appears to have led to less public resistance on the various developments Black Creek is currently proposing.

The project, as it stands now, has received final approval for a total of 398 units on the 200-acre site. Lamm says that having the village annex the Chestnut Ridge area, which incorporates Raymond Farm and property formerly owned by the Blejec family, means that the project is taking advantage of zoning laws in the village, as opposed to those in the Town of Mamakating, which, according to Lamm, are less favorable.

The development will also add a number of commercial properties to the village's tax roll, according to Lamm. There are plans for a supermarket, along with a number of other retail spaces.

However, despite the recent approval by the village planning board, Lamm is somewhat less sanguine about the prospects for actually selling the units.

"This is the worst real estate market since the 1930s," Lamm says. "When we started this whole thing four years ago, things looked very different."

Now, Lamm says, he is working to find a large real estate brokerage firm, a company with a national profile, in order to market the units as they become available.

Despite the ugly market conditions, Lamm feels strongly that the project will have a positive impact on the lives of Bloomingburg residents.

"It's one of those circumstances in which everyone's needs get met," Lamm says. "It's a win-win."