Priceless
The core of the Orange County Partnership’s mission is to bring quality projects that produce good-paying jobs and needed tax revenue to municipalities, school districts and the county. A lot of our work is done behind the scenes, meeting with the investors and municipal officials in the early stages, attending public meetings and advocating for the projects during the regulatory process in the hopes that these worthwhile ventures secure the necessary approvals.
This work sometimes begins years before a shovel turns the first dirt on the project and in some cases never bears fruit despite our best efforts. This vital work can sometimes be frustrating, but requires patience and a resolve to get these developments over the finish line.
This was indeed the case for three projects that secured approvals in the City of Newburgh, Town of Newburgh and the Town of Wallkill earlier this month. The cumulative private investment on these three projects that received assistance from the Orange County Partnership totals $96 million that will create a total of approximately 260 direct jobs upon completion and hundreds of construction jobs during development.
In the City of Newburgh, the City of Newburgh Industrial Development Agency approved a PILOT Agreement for the $24-million project by Foster Supply Hospitality to redevelop three buildings on Grand Street into a hospitality complex featuring an 80-room hotel, rooftop tavern, a premier spa, restaurants and event space. The project will provide up to 61 full-time jobs and a large number of construction jobs. It will receive $1.25 million in Empire State Development grants.
Walgreens has found a new home in the Town of Newburgh at the site of a 215,000-square-foot speculative building being developed by Matrix Development Group. The $30-million project will produce a highly-automated micro fulfillment center that will upon completion result in 200 new jobs, The Orange County Industrial Development Agency recently approved approximately $2 million in sales tax exemption incentives for this project.
In a very important project in the Town of Wallkill, the Wallkill Town Board recently approved a residential overlay zone on a parcel of land adjacent to the Galleria at Crystal Run. Wallkill Acquisition Co., LLC, an entity of the shopping center owner Pyramid Group, is looking to develop a 224-unit affordable multifamily housing complex on a parcel located on Smith Road.
The Galleria Residences will involve a total private investment of $42 million and will create 112 construction jobs and 49 new permanent jobs in the Town of Wallkill.
These projects are transformational in nature and their impacts on Orange County and their respective localities are priceless. One will help redevelop a swath of Downtown Newburgh, another will bring another national company into Orange County and the other will allow a major property owner to tap a source of revenue and add some much-needed affordable housing to the county’s available stock.
I am proud of all the staff of the Partnership that worked to help these projects secure the necessary approvals so the residents of Orange County can benefit from the nearly $100 million in private investment.
As we savor these victories, we realize that this is what we do and the road to the finish line, while never easy, on some occasions is definitely worth the effort.
In closing, a quote from William Penn comes to mind: “Patience and diligence, like faith, remove mountains.”
My very best,
Maureen Halahan
