Foreland has opened a 500-foot stretch of Catskill Creek waterfront to the public as it expands the mix of businesses on its roughly 85,000-square-foot campus. The opening combines new public space with plans for a cafe, a Scandinavian design shop and an antiques gallery in the complex’s three historic mill buildings.
The new area includes a lawn, a creekside walkway and commercial spaces intended for independent shops and makers, according to the Times Union. Foreland founder Stef Halmos said the opening reflects a change in how the shoreline is used. The newspaper also reported, citing a separate release, that the waterfront project required relatively little additional development spending.
New Tenants Moving Into the Mill Buildings
Camp Kaaterskill, a sister business to Camp Kingston, is planned for the Water Street side of the complex. The 3,800-square-foot cafe and restaurant is expected to serve local comfort food throughout the day, with beer and wine. Samuel Shapiro, who founded Camp Kingston’s cafe, bar and gathering space in Kingston in 2023, is developing pastry and dinner menus for both locations with Lee Kalpakis, the Times Union reported.
Norrlanda plans to open in spring 2027, selling outdoor furniture, tableware, textiles and rustic Nordic antiques while also serving as a base for its owner’s upstate interior design practice. Lawton Mull is scheduled to open an antiques shop and gallery in January 2027. Its 3,000-square-foot space is to carry collectible antiques, one-of-a-kind art objects and bespoke custom pieces, with seasonal exhibitions planned.
Grains of Paradise and Gaa Gallery Already Open
The incoming tenants add to businesses already operating at Foreland: Grains of Paradise, a spice and provisions shop, and Gaa Gallery, a contemporary art gallery. They join Cone Zero Ceramics and Catskill Weaving School. The campus has about 10 commercial spaces, seven occupied, and also includes 55 artists’ studios, galleries, a coworking space and food and beverage spaces, according to the Times Union.
Foreland occupies three former mill buildings at 111 and 125 Water Street and 361 Main Street. Dating to the mid-1800s, the buildings made uniforms for Union soldiers during the Civil War and later stood empty for decades. Halmos began renovating them in 2017; the four-year project was completed before Foreland opened in 2021. A floating glass pedestrian bridge connects two of the buildings.
A Shift Away From Weddings and Private Events
Foreland ended weddings and private rentals in 2025. Halmos said the events no longer suited the complex’s mission and had become unsustainable for its team and resources. The shift away from private events accompanies the campus’s expansion of permanent retail and restaurant businesses and the opening of its waterfront to the public.
The restoration received more than $1.4 million in grants and $1 million in historic tax credits, according to the Times Union. The newspaper also reported that public waterfront access of this kind is uncommon in the region, where rail lines and private ownership limit access to much of the Hudson Valley shoreline. Foreland is seeking tenants for its remaining commercial spaces.
Foreland in a Wider Waterfront and Reuse Context
Foreland’s walkway is one site-specific change, while Village planning documents address creek access more broadly. The Village of Catskill’s October 2024 DRI application listed Catskill Creek access points and docks as proposed recreational amenities. Its January 2026 DRI Strategic Investment Plan describes downtown-wide street and waterfront conditions as discouraging access to the creek; that assessment does not specifically address Foreland’s walkway, according to the Village’s DRI application and Strategic Investment Plan.
Another regional example of industrial-building reuse is Basilica Hudson, a separate arts and cultural-center project in Hudson. NYSERDA lists the adaptive-reuse project as completed in July 2025; its case study concerns building reuse, not a creekside public walkway like Foreland’s.
