The town of New Windsor has taken back the remainder of shovel-ready land it had leased to Latham-based First Columbia builders for $1 back in 2006 for the project known as New York International Plaza.
The recession took a toll on First Columbia”™s plans. In 2007, business was booming at Stewart International Airport, and First Columbia was pumped to build out 210 acres of the 260-acre abandoned Army property adjacent to the airport. A townhome complex was planned by K. Hovnanian for the other 50 acres.
First Columbia”™s plans called for a 2.5 million square-foot mix of class-A office space, retail, medical and fitness space and a hotel that had already been approved. The location offered potential clientele the opportunity to be in the Stewart-Newburgh Empire Zone as well as the Foreign Trade Zone.
Adding to the location”™s attraction was the completion of a long-awaited access road directly into the airport, held up in court by litigation from the Stewart Park Reserve and Coalition for several years. The ribbon was cut as the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey took over the airport and First Columbia principal Chris Bette unveiled plans for the former Army property.
Fast forward to post-recession January 2012. The rosy business picture envisioned in 2007 by all concerned was gone, airport passenger numbers dropped to half of what they had been prior to the mortgage meltdown, businesses scaled back rather than expanded or closed their doors entirely, and commercial and residential loans became much more difficult to obtain.
As a result, Supervisor George Green of New Windsor says the town has taken back the remaining 120 acres leased to First Columbia and another 20 acres that had been set aside for the townhome project. “We”™re going to develop it the way it was supposed to be developed. We”™re working on some funding with the Orange County Partnership and the Industrial Development Agency.”
Green said First Columbia would remain on board at the properties it has already built and leased at the business park. “First Columbia is still in the picture, but the town will move forward on the remaining property and take back 20 acres of the land Hovnanian was building on.” Bette was unavailable for comment at press time.
Baker Residential of White Plains will complete the buildout at The Grove, adding 142 townhomes ranging from 2,200-2,500 square feet. They are expected to be priced in the low to mid-$200,000 range, according to Baker”™s website.
