Levy previously served as Senior Vice President of Homeownership and Community Development at Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), New York State’s affordable housing agency.
Industrial and commercial development sites are being delivered with zoning in place, utilities secured, and entitlement pathways clearly defined…
Industrial and commercial development sites are being delivered with zoning in place, utilities secured, and entitlement pathways clearly defined…
For years, the Hudson Valley’s value proposition in industrial site selection was largely geographic. Positioned between New York City and the Northeast corridor, the region offered proximity—but not always speed, certainty, or scale.
That equation has changed.
Today, Hudson Valley and Orange County are emerging as one of the Northeast’s most execution-ready platforms for industrial development and advanced manufacturing investment. What distinguishes the market now is not location alone, but preparedness: shovel-ready sites and spec buildings, coordinated infrastructure, rail access, and a workforce strategy aligned with employer demand.
This shift reflects a broader evolution in our economic development ethos. Access matters—but readiness decides.
Across the Hudson Valley, and particularly in Orange County, economic development efforts have moved decisively toward execution. Industrial and commercial development sites are being delivered with zoning in place, utilities secured, and entitlement pathways clearly defined—compressing timelines and reducing development risk.
A core pillar of Orange County’s economic development strategy is the advancement of “unique sites”— locations with significant utility capacity, brownfield redevelopment potential, or strategic assets such as rail access. In support of this approach, Gov. Kathy Hochul recently announced a $26-million FAST NY award to redevelop the long-vacant Galaxy rail yards in Maybrook into the Switchyard Terminal for Economic & Advanced Manufacturing (STEAM Park).
The vision for STEAM Park is centered on speed, predictability, and direct rail service for companies in the food and beverage, packaging, materials, and processing sectors. When completed, Orange County will have a fully shovel-ready park with six rail-served pad sites, equipped with municipal infrastructure. Rather than treating infrastructure, incentives, workforce development, and approvals as sequential steps, the project integrates them from the outset. For real estate decision-makers, this model delivers certainty and speed to groundbreaking.
Beyond shovel-ready site development, Orange County has experienced a significant increase in speculative industrial construction. Today, multiple speculative facilities are either nearing delivery or actively under construction across the county—including a 535,000-square-foot building in the Golden Triangle area of Wallkill; a 416,000-square-foot project on South Street in the City of Newburgh; a 585,000-square-foot building adjacent to Stewart International Airport in the Town of Newburgh; and a 146,000-square-foot building substantially completed in the Town of Montgomery.
In total, Orange County offers more than one million square feet of modern, tenant-ready industrial space to support near-term occupancy.
Our labor advantage is regional, not localized.
The Hudson Valley labor shed supports a diversified, mobile workforce with experience across manufacturing, food and beverage processing, logistics, construction trades, and technology-enabled operations. Partnerships with institutions such as SUNY Orange ensure training pipelines remain responsive to employer needs—supporting both initial staffing and long-term scalability. We include our workforce partners early and often in our discussions with prospects—with the express goal of positioning a project for successful operational launch.
In high-performing economic development markets, coordination becomes an asset.
Our recent momentum is the result of strong alignment among municipalities, county leadership, state agencies, and the private sector. In Orange County, the Orange County Partnership serves as a central point of coordination, working closely with commercial real estate partners on site selection and helping companies navigate approvals, utilities and incentive resources, while maintaining project momentum across jurisdictions.
For site selectors and our partners in real estate, this alignment translates into fewer handoffs, clearer timelines, and more consistent outcomes.
As supply chains continue to regionalize and industrial users reassess legacy locations, markets offering speed, infrastructure readiness, and workforce reliability are gaining share.
The Hudson Valley and Orange County now belong in that conversation.
With modern industrial inventory, rail connectivity, market access, and a more integrated development model, the market is positioned to capture investment that previously bypassed the Northeast. Orange County, working in coordination with regional partners, is helping translate that preparedness into execution.
For companies planning expansion in 2026 and beyond, Hudson Valley and Orange County offer a compelling alternative—one defined not just by proximity, but by readiness.
About the author: Conor Eckert is President & CEO of the Orange County Partnership based in Goshen.
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