The Village of Ellenville, New York, located in the Rondout Valley in Ulster County between the lower Catskill Mountain range and the Shawangunk Ridge, was once known as the epicenter of the Borscht Belt, a string of hotels and resorts across the Catskills that featured Las Vegas-calibre entertainment. The Borscht Belt is long gone, so too the hotels and resorts, and a slew of indigenous industries that sustained the town have left or folded.
So the people who still live there are turning to HGTV, which put out a nationwide call to find towns that could use some of the ‘Home Town’ touch, part of an ambitious new series, Home Town Takeover, led by hosts Erin and Ben Napier and a team of renovation pros to take over and make over six small American towns.
Home Town Takeover, is a six-episode special event slated to air on HGTV in 2021. Applicants were asked to highlight aspects of their town that make it special, fascinating, historic or unique, including distinctive features like vintage period architecture, special destinations or a classic main street. The six selected towns, HGTV said, can expect to witness the rehab of multiple individual family homes as well as the revitalization of public spaces, e.g., parks, local diners or restaurants and outdoor recreation areas.
Here’s the video that put Ellenville on the HGTV radar:
