The Planning Board for the Town of Wawayanda in Orange County has decided that a plan to build a logistics center warehouse project does not need an intensive environmental study that would involve preparation of draft and final environmental impact statements. The board issued a negative declaration of environmental impacts for the Slate Hill Commerce Center Project that has been proposed by Scannell Properties #600 LLC.
Scannell is proposing to reclaim an existing commercial mine and redevelop the land located at 22 McBride Road and Hoops Road in the Town of Wawayanda with a new 925,000-square-foot warehouse, storage and distribution facility. The property used to be the Shapiro Farm, located off Route 6 in the hamlet of Slate Hill, one of eight hamlets in Wawayanda. Scannell is proposing to divide the property into three lots. The Town of Wawayanda is located in the western part of Orange County, south of the City of Middletown.
The current owner of the property is Aden Slate Hill LLC located in the Town of Montgomery. Aden has operated the Slate Hill/Javelin Quarry at the 22 McBride Road address, where various types of stone, clean fill, sand and road base materials are offered for sale.
Scannell, located in Indianapolis, says that since 1990 it has developed more than 130 million square feet of space and annually develops properties valued at more than $5 billion. The company says that it handles build-to-suit projects as well as speculative developments. Scannell says that its projects include e-commerce fulfillment centers, truck terminals, manufacturing facilities, warehouses, distribution centers, and special purpose buildings such as laboratories and cold storage warehouses.
Conor Eckert, senior development officer and vice president of business attraction for the Orange County Partnership, welcomed the move by the planning board that avoids the sometimes lengthy full environmental review process under the State Environmental Quality Review Act.
“The Scannell project will involve an investment of more than $100 million and will likely create hundreds of local jobs in the Town of Wawayanda, in addition to significant increases in tax ratables for the property,” Eckert said.
Promotional materials seeking tenants for the new warehouse say that it will be ready for occupancy in 2024, would have clear ceiling height of 32 feet and be equipped with 237 loading docks. In addition, there would be 10 drive-in access points. It also is suggested that a separate 120,000-square-foot building could be accommodated as part of the project.
