 
Once a women”™s prison, then a shelter for the destitute, the property thousands of New York City”™s homeless men called home for more than five decades may become the first truly “walkable, new urbanist community” built on the west side of the Hudson River.
That is, if all goes according to the plans for Camp LaGuardia that Mountco Construction of Scarsdale has outlined on paper.
The company says it needs zoning changes to turn a former minus into a plus for several Orange County communities surrounding the former shelter and needs to do so expeditiously.
Mountco developer Joel Mounty and his team appeared before the Chester Town Board June 24, attracting a crowd of about 50 residents and political figures, all of whom have an interest in the future of the 258-acre site.
In addition to retail and commercial space, approximately 900 units, ranging from single-family homes, to work force housing, townhomes and senior housing for those who are independent as well as fragile are mixed into a clustered arrangement designed to be a “truly walkable community ”“ probably a first for this part of Orange County,” said John Madeo, Mountco”™s executive vice president.Â
Orange County bought the homeless shelter from New York City in 2007 for $8.5 million, with another million dollars tacked on for taxes and fees during the transfer. The county would like to recoup the taxpayers”™ money as quickly as possible, Mounty told the Chester Town Board. “While we are not looking for any special favors, time is of the essence to get this project through the approval process and for the town to declare itself lead agency. Every month we wait to get something done is another month lost.”
Mountco, which gave the county $100,000 when it signed the contract to purchase Camp LaGuardia late last year, will spend approximately $1 million on SEQRA (State Environmental Quality Review Act), consultants and fees for the towns of Blooming Grove and Chester.
Chester declared itself lead agency, giving Mountco the opportunity to move to the next level, a scoping session where public input will be sought. “We want this to be a community effort,” said Mounty.Â
Eleven acres will be set aside for the Monroe-Woodbury school district in anticipation of future needs. Mount St. Mary College will also be given space to develop a satellite campus in the southern part of the county. The former Black Dirt Region farmland the homeless men worked on and comprises nearly half the 258 acre parcel, is now overgrown, but “we are going to look into restoring it and using it,” Mounty said. “Mountco”™s survey of the property found more wetlands than the county”™s original map, which will affect the finalized plans.”
All the buildings are considered unusable and will be taken down, Mounty told the board.
“Every issue will be mitigated,” said Richard Golden, the former county attorney and now part of Mountco”™s development team. “Our goal is to make a truly walkable community for people of all ages and incomes.”
Town of Chester Supervisor Steve Neuhaus said that he, town of Blooming Grover Supervisor Charles Bohan and village of Chester Mayor Phil Valastro “are all on the same page and we”™re working cooperatively to get this done without any haggling. We want this project to be a positive for us, especially after the years of dealing with the complaints and problems we experienced with the residents of Camp LaGuardia.”
Mountco, which offered $12 million for the property, said it needs to be through the approvals process and ready to get shovels in the ground in two years. If not, it does have an option to walk away from the deal, but that”™s not Mounty”™s intention. “We aren”™t asking the municipalities for any special favors, but to help the approvals and zoning changes to be made in a timely manner. Time really is of the essence for this project.”Â
Mountco will also give the county $2 million upon completion of the approvals process and then start building. If the project goes beyond the two-year cycle, Mountco has the option of opting out.
Diego Lopez moved from Queens to the town of Blooming Grove two years ago because he “loves the open space … I don”™t love my taxes, though. My wife and I don”™t have any children yet, and my school taxes alone are $10,000 a year. I”™d like to see Camp LaGuardia developed into a plus for our community. We heard the horror stories from people who lived here when it was a homeless shelter. We need something positive to come here that will create jobs and make our neighborhood safe and stable and bring in some needed tax dollars.”
Noel Spencer, a former town of Chester councilman and now an Orange County legislator, said Mounty seems “very sincere in his desire not only to give us a positive plan, but to make the investment in the community.”
