Ulster County Court Judge Bryan Rounds has approved a negotiated settlement between the county and developer Alan Ginsberg, owner of a 258-acre property, that would allow Greenwich-based developer National Resources to purchase, clean up and redevelop the site.
The settlement resolves foreclosure proceedings that had been brought by the county as a result of unpaid taxes. Under the agreement, National Resources would commit to pay installments totaling $12 million, roughly the amount currently owed in back taxes, and enter into a formal agreement for environmental cleanup.
Known as the TechCity, the property was formerly an IBM campus. According to Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan, in the 1980s, IBM had 7,000 employees at the site. IBM moved out in 1995 and subsequently sold the entire campus in 1998 to Ginsberg, who promised full redevelopment. Ginsberg had originally sought to fill the spaces with high-end tenants, according to Dan Torres, assistant deputy Ulster County executive.
In 2019, the county foreclosed on two large parcels totaling more than 80 acres at the site and including buildings that Bank of America had formerly occupied there. It cited $3.3 million owed in back school, town and county taxes on the parcels, dating from 2016.
The site now contains debris piles from demolished buildings containing the hazardous substance asbestos. Asbestos also is reported to be in at least two buildings that still stand at the site. The settlement requires that National Resources “quickly commence environmental cleanup and costs in a manner that is acceptable to both the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and New York State DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation).”
National Resources has significant experience in revitalizing former industrial campuses around the Hudson Valley, including another former IBM campus in East Fishkill, which house businesses in the film, technology, manufacturing, food and beverage and other sectors.
“Our hope is that in the next week or two we can actually announce some really cool tenants for the site as well,” Torres said.
He alluded to potential tenants including: microbreweries; distilleries; indoor agriculture; and educational ventures. He said that there is a possibility that National Resources will use part of the space for a film and TV studio, as they have in their other complexes in Yonkers and East Fishkill.
The Ulster County Legislature was due to vote Dec. 2 to accept the transfer of deeds from Ginsberg. It also was expected to set a public hearing on the matter for Dec. 21 and take other action that would culminate in the sale to National Resources.
