FALLSBURG — Formaggio Cheese in Hurleyville is looking to move forward with new employee housing in the Town of Fallsburg, but before entering the full planning process, representatives for the company appeared before the Town Board on May 6 to gauge whether board members would be receptive to the proposal.
The project would require a sewer district extension for property on Route 52. Representatives said the property is already connected to town water, but would need sewer service before the housing plan could move ahead.
Attorney Mike McGuire, appearing on behalf of Formaggio, told the board that the presentation was preliminary. He said the company wanted to get a sense of the board’s position before spending money on the Planning Board process.
“This is a conceptual presentation. That’s all it is. It’s early,” said McGuire. “As we deal with these things, it’s always the chicken or the egg. We know we’ve got to go to the planning board.”
McGuire said the property was left outside the sewer district because of elevation concerns. Because of that, the project would need a pump station. He said Formaggio would pay for the pump station and the sewer line extension.
“We know that we’ll have to build the pump station,” said McGuire. “We know that the cost of extending the line will be our obligation to do that.”
According to McGuire, Formaggio employs 353 people and paid $17.5 million in salaries in 2025. He also said the company paid $41,000 in property taxes.
But McGuire said the main purpose of the proposal is to provide housing for workers.
“This is employee housing,” said McGuire. “We want to keep it as employee housing, but right now these units are getting pretty run down, as you can see. And if you go by it, let’s face it, it’s blight.”
The company had initially considered quadplexes, but McGuire said that type of housing is not allowed under the current zoning. The plan now being discussed is for duplexes, though the final number has not yet been determined.
McGuire said Formaggio is looking at possibly building 16 duplexes, or 32 units, on the property. He said some variances may be needed, and the company’s engineer is still working through the details.
The work could also be done in phases, with the worst buildings removed and replaced first.
“We may or may not build them all simultaneously,” said McGuire. “We’ll probably take down some of the buildings that are currently not inhabitable and replace them with new duplexes, and then over a period of time, replace all of them, replace the roadways, replace the parking areas, but stay within the same footprint.”
McGuire said the project would not require new curb cuts or additional water service. However, he said sewer service is needed because the current septic system would not be enough for the added residents.
He said Formaggio needs the housing as the company continues to grow.
“We need employee housing ’cause we need to continue to grow,” said McGuire. “Formaggio has grown precipitously over the last several years, and they’re gonna continue to grow, but they can’t without a workforce.”
When asked how many employees could live on the property, McGuire said the 32 units could house about 35 to 50 employees, depending on family size and whether multiple household members work for the company.
“There’ll be 32 units, so you’re probably looking at 32 to 35 employees,” said McGuire. “A lot of times you got husband and wife work there, kids get older, they’ll work summers. So I’m gonna say somewhere between 35, 50 in that neighborhood.”
Fallsburg Town Supervisor Nathan Steingart asked whether the units would be limited to employees or rented to the general public.
McGuire said the company is not looking to rent the units outside of its workforce.
“We have to have housing for our employees,” said McGuire. “We’re not looking to outsource it. We’re looking at employees.”
Steingart said the proposal stood out to him because it supports an existing business, but he also pointed to the town’s ongoing concerns with water and sewer capacity.
“This is something that honestly appeals to me because it supports a business and it makes sense,” said Steingart. “But knowing our struggles with our water and sewer, extensions are, unless it’s a very unique situation, irresponsible, honestly, if we approve them. But to me, this is something that absolutely I would be okay with.”
Fallsburg Councilman Mike Bensimon took a more cautious view, saying the town has to think carefully before bringing more properties into the sewer district.
Bensimon said once a property is inside the district and paying capital taxes, the town is obligated to provide service. If the property remains outside the district, he said, the town does not have that same responsibility.
“Once we bring someone into the district, they’re forever our responsibility,” said Bensimon.
Bensimon said there may be some remaining capacity at the treatment plant, but the town also has to account for future buildout from properties already in the district.
“If everyone that’s currently in the district builds according to the current zoning with no variances, we don’t have enough to cover our own people,” said Bensimon.
He said that is why the town has become more careful when considering water and sewer district extensions.
McGuire said Formaggio would come back with more specific numbers showing how much sewer capacity the proposed 32 units would require.
“I don’t want to venture that. I’m not an engineer, but I’ll get that information,” said McGuire. “What I would want to give you is the 32-unit number for gallons.”
Steingart said he was comfortable with Formaggio taking the project to the Planning Board, but said the town engineer would need to be satisfied with the capacity information.
“I’m comfortable personally telling you to go ahead to the Planning Board with some confidence that as long as [Town Engineer] Ken [Ellsworth] is comfortable with it, that we’ll extend the district,” said Steingart. “But again, I’m one person.”
No final approval was granted. The proposal still needs to go through the Planning Board and the town’s sewer district extension process.