[font=Verdana]Plans for a new hotel and office buildings off Route 9 in the Town of Poughkeepsie have gained a first approval, and demolition of old IBM Corp. buildings could begin next week.[/font]

[font=Verdana]The planning board Thursday night granted Oakwood Partners LLC preliminary site plan approval for the complex, to be called Oakwood Commons. Principal David Kaminski said his firm also has answered questions on whether the site might contain American Indian artifacts, which appears highly unlikely.[/font]

[font=Verdana]"We resolved all the issues that were brought up," Kaminski said.[/font]

[font=Verdana]Oakwood hired Manhattan-based Greenhouse Consultants to perform archaeological testing of the property. Results showed any artifacts on the site are likely long gone, he said.[/font]

[font=Verdana]"Buildings would have completely obliterated anything that was there," Kaminski said of the former IBM site.[/font]

[font=Verdana]Similar tests will be performed on another portion of the property as well, but construction of the new complex could begin in June.[/font]

[font=Verdana]Oakwood now owns the 10-acre site and will begin demolition of former IBM buildings, the oldest dating to the 1950s, next week, Kaminski said.[/font]

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