To market, to market ”¦ or, better still, to The Marketplace. That”™s what owners of a 120-acre parcel sitting at the center of I-84 and I-87 in the town of Newburgh are hoping for.
Work is under way by the state Department of Transportation (DOT) and the New York State Thruway Authority to link the two interstate highways and create a direct-access route to Stewart International Airport. That will take airport traffic off Route 300, leaving more room to roam for shoppers. The Marketplace will be strategically located right at the crossroads of both, a fact not overlooked by Bob Wilder and his partners when they scouted out the property in 2004.
Elmsford-based Wilder-Balter Partners (www.wbhomes.com) purchased the property three years ago for an undisclosed amount. “Other developers looked at it and passed it by,” said Bob Wilder. “There were plenty of problems and some major environmental concerns: oil spills, a gas station that needed to be removed and several wetland issues.”
Location, location, location trumped the property”™s potential pitfalls. “It is three years this month since we started the paperwork on this project,” said Wilder. Lawsuits and some pockets of public outcry notwithstanding, Wilder-Balter is moving ahead, even if it has, at times, seemed to be only inch by inch.
To create additional entrances and exits to avoid tie-ups on Route 300, where the main entrance will be located, the builders bought several adjacent properties in addition to the original 120-acre parcel.
“This project will have three different access points,” said Wilder. “One on Route 300, one off Exit 8 on I-84 and another off Route 52 at Meadow Avenue.” He says a new roundabout to clean up traffic problems on Meadow Avenue is part of the planning process. The DOT has signed off in concept with the plan, and the town planning board is in agreement, according to Wilder.
Has The Marketplace”™s close proximity to the Newburgh Mall ”“ its main entrance virtually sitting across from the existing mall”™s doorstep ”“ posed a problem?
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“Yes, there have been several legal attempts to stop our project, all of them unsuccessful,” said Wilder. “We aren”™t looking to recruit their tenants. We think there is room for both of us to coexist at that location. We are both offering a different product. The Marketplace will only be adding new business to the community that is not there now. We”™re not looking to take anyone”™s tenants away.”
Wilder-Balter”™s proposed anchors will most likely be “big boxes,” familiar names like Costco, Best Buy and other large retailers that have become a common sight in the Hudson Valley. A Home Depot, a Super Wal-Mart and others national chains have already come to the Route 300 corridor. The chains Wilder is courting will add to the diversity, he says, not compete with what”™s already there. And they won”™t be the only piece of the project, stressed Wilder.
If built out as the developer envisions, the Marketplace will consist of two separate centers: 650,000 square feet dedicated to the big box stores, the remaining 150,000 square feet to smaller shops, restaurants and entertainment venues.
“We are planning to create a ”˜Main Street”™ feel where people can have more of a shopping experience,” Wilder said. “When it comes to shopping, the big-box stores are in a different category altogether. Someone headed to a place like Best Buy will go in and go right back out. Those customers haven”™t come to walk around and shop. They come for a specific reason and leave when they are done.” Wilder says The Marketplace has inked deals with several large retailers, none of whom are currently tenants of the Newburgh Mall. “Again, we are not looking to take away their business. We are only adding business that is not here and would be a plus for the community.”
A drive-through Starbucks, a Lucky Strike bowling facility and other amenities Newburgh doesn”™t currently offer are some of the attractions Wilder hopes to bring to the project.
Prior to tackling The Marketplace, Wilder-Balter spent much of its 25-year history focusing on building senior and affordable housing. “That market has changed. Most of the housing we have done in the past 10 years is market rate and luxury. The Marketplace is our first commercial venture in the Hudson Valley,” said Wilder.
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The environment
The project has passed its major hurdles: the environmental process and the final environmental impact statement, which has been approved by the planning board. Now, both sides are working on Wilder-Balter”™s proposed revisions to its site plan. As of yet, Wilder has no return date to discuss how these issues will be mitigated between builder and town planners. The complete EIS is available at www.townofnewburgh.org.
Wilder doesn”™t deny The Marketplace will have some environmental impact. “The planning board has been thorough. They did a good job from the standpoint of looking out for the town and not allowing the developer to call the shots. They have been fair, and we are working with them.
“The engineering side is usually more defined; the environmental side should be the tail on the dog, but as it turns out, it is the dog,” continued Wilder. “We finished our end in April. The town of Newburgh has its own process and we will work with them to get the project moving ahead.”
Like most big developments, Wilder”™s project has its detractors, and they are “very vocal,” said Steve Marino, project manager for the environmental process, working out of Tim Miller Associates in Cold Spring. “It is part of the development process and comes with the territory,” said Marino.
Detractors notwithstanding, Wilder says the goal is to create a lifestyle component to the project, bringing something unique for the town of Newburgh. “Creating a pedestrian-friendly landscape using many different materials to enhance it is part of our overall vision: 15- to 20-foot-wide sidewalks where there can be outdoor seating for restaurants and places for park benches are part of the plan to make The Marketplace a destination, not just a shopping center.”
Wilder predicts the cost of The Marketplace will in the neighborhood of $150 million. “One thing that you need when trying to bring a project of this nature to a community is tenacity. Right now, The Marketplace is the biggest project in Orange County, but the process in New York is very long and tedious, certainly not for the faint of heart.” Wilder says his company is prepared to work with the town to bring both quality shopping and revenue to the county.
“We”™re hoping to break ground by the end of the year,” said Wilder. “Every day, we keep moving the ball forward. Our goal is to get some positive feeling about Newburgh. It was once one of America”™s best cities. It went through a big transition, as many other manufacturing cities have in the area. Like Rodney Dangerfield, Newburgh hasn”™t gotten any respect, but I think that”™s changing and we”™re seeing it happen already. And IÂ see our project as helping achieve that goal.”
“The planning board has been very thorough,” said Wayne Booth, town of Newburgh supervisor. “We want to be sure that the town gets the best possible project in terms of design and mitigating traffic issues. Overall, The Marketplace is well-received by the community as a whole. It”™s my hope the Newburgh Mall and The Marketplace will work together and create something really wonderful for the town rather than the litigation that”™s been going on.”
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