Chris Bette has been in the construction business since he was old enough to wield a shovel in a sandbox. With his brothers Kevin, Mark, Matt and Pete, the Bettes”™ company, First Columbia, took a long-term lease on the former U.S. Army base that is now Stewart International Airport.
Although the brothers are better known for projects in the Albany area, they eventually came south, first building a medical office in New Windsor in 1988 and then another project in Ulster County”™s New Paltz, a medical center on Route 299. They entered into the long-term lease agreement for the Stewart International Airport property the town of New Windsor had acquired from the federal government in 1998.
First Columbia”™s plans for the 263-acre parcel are ambitious. To date, it has created a new road, Hudson Valley Avenue off Route 208, just a short hike from Stewart”™s entrance. To date, the firm has built 350,000 square feet of class A and light-industrial space on the property.
With more than 20 tenants in their new buildings, including State Farm Insurance and E-Nap, Bette is working with the town”™s planning board for the next phase of the project, two separate buildings of 20,000 square feet and 40,000 square feet.
The company”™s build-out plan would eventually see 2.5 million square feet of office space, hotels, retail and restaurants over the next 15 years.  Bette said in a 2006 interview that he wanted to make International Plaza as user-friendly as possible, incorporating services such as a dry-cleaning store, medical facilities and other make-life-easier components for the work force in the office park. Bette picked up on the “traditional neighborhood concept” early on, and he plans to run with it.
First Columbia”™s property is within the Stewart Empire Zone, making tax incentives a lucrative enticement to attract new business. Between tax-friendly advantages and sound building practices and plans, Bette says the company is ready to move ahead.
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As he prepares for the next phase of development, Bette, like many others within and surrounding the airport, wonder what life will be like once the Stewart lease is taken over by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. “They (the port authority) have said they are community friendly,” said Bette. “And we certainly hope they are. We have not really had many dealings with them, but I”™m sure that will change once the airport changes hands in October.”
Bette readily admits things are moving rapidly at Stewart and the surrounding area, much to his delight. “With Drury Lane nearing completion and the plans for expansion at the airport, we”™re in the right place at the right time,” said Bette. “We”™re looking forward to friendly relations with our new neighbor ”“ the port authority.”
K. Hovnanian”™s homes and condos are also going up nearby, which Bette said he hoped would be attractive to those coming to lease property with First Columbia. “Ideally,” said Bette back in 2006, “it”™s a perfect situation to live and work and not have the hassle of commuting. Hovnanian builds a great product, and I”™m sure our projects will complement each other. There is no doubt about it ”“ Orange County is starting to roll, and we”™re rolling right along with it.”
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