Yun noted that a key trend going forward is that for-sale inventory has been increasing of late and is expected to continue next year.
The Orange County Partnership, founded in 1986, has assisted in a total of 873 attractions and expansion projects in 38 years.
Fernandez, who has served as HGAR’s CEO since September 2023, was among three award winners. She joined HGAR after having served as CEO of the Greater Louisville Association of Realtors.
The Orange County Partnership, founded in 1986, has assisted in a total of 873 attractions and expansion projects in 38 years.
MIDDLETOWN—The Orange County Partnership saved its best for last, closing out its 2024 programming recently with its 38th Annual Event that featured the presentation of the Golden Shovel and Spirit of Innovation awards, as well as a look back at the Partnership’s economic impact over nearly four decades of operation and its plans for the future.
Approximately 600 business and political leaders gathered on Dec. 3 at the Barn at Villa Venezia in Middletown for the Goshen-based Partnership’s Annual Event. One of the highlights of the evening was the presentation of the Alliance for Balanced Growth’s “Golden Shovel Award” to Royal Wine Corp., its owners the Herzog family, and developer GFI Partners on Royal Wine’s 650,000-square-foot bottling and distribution center built on more than 80 acres on 17M in Goshen. The new Orange County facility consolidated Royal Wine’s operations in two other states.
The Herzog family and GFI were praised by Partnership and Orange County officials for “GFI’s unwavering focus on innovation, quality, and integrity” that aligns seamlessly with Royal Wine’s dedication, creating a dynamic foundation for growth and partnership. Their “investment, collaboration, and commitment have already made a lasting mark on Orange County,” Partnership officials stated. The new Goshen plant will bring 100 new permanent jobs to the area.
The Orange County Partnership handed out its Spirit of Innovation Award to James P. Smith, founder and president of Campbell Hall-based Advanced Testing Company. Smith was praised not only for the company’s impressive growth and position in the construction industry, but also for his tireless volunteer efforts in the business, civic and social arenas. Smith was a long-time director of the Orange County Partnership.
The program also included remarks by Orange County Executive Steven M. Neuhaus, addresses by Orange County Partnership Board Chairperson Melissa Cobuzzi and President & CEO Maureen Halahan, as well as a 2025 Market Outlook by Senior Vice President Conor Eckert.
The Orange County Partnership, founded in 1986, has assisted in a total of 873 attractions and expansion projects in 38 years, involving a total investment of more than $7 billion that generated an estimated 31,366 job creations in Orange County.
Despite the economic and political turbulence in 2024, the Partnership’s efforts fostered a total of $135 million in investment involving 370 new jobs and significant development activity. Other key data points released by the Partnership point to an impressive project pipeline. The Goshen-based agency reported 53 new leads, including 11 from international companies. The Partnership fielded a 38% increase in manufacturing leads and noted that it had participated in 13 site selector tours and 22 business retention and expansion visits.
Neuhaus, Halahan and Eckert related the opportunities that now exist in the green, advanced technology and chip sectors and that Orange County is poised to take advantage of the growth in those markets.
Halahan said that in the past few years developers have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in industrial projects in Orange County and that despite high interest rates and political uncertainty, “these developers are poised to continue to deliver projects because they trust us and they believe in our Orange County market. In 2025 we have the promise of their investment paying off, resulting in significant construction activity and job creation.”
Eckert said that the Orange County Partnership plans to “recalibrate” its economic development efforts and focus on pharma, food and beverage, clean technology and semiconductors—“sectors that move the needle for the community.”
He added, “With this focus comes more significant projects, comes more complicated construction, great jobs and more wealth in the community.” In 2024, Orange County Partnership officials traveled the country to meet with leaders in these key sectors in the hopes that new development and high-paying jobs from these industries will locate in Orange County. “We are competing on a global scale for these dynamic projects,” he said.
Eckert detailed a very impressive pipeline of potential projects that are now in various stages of site selection and approvals, including a high-tech logistics facility totaling more than 3.0 million square feet that is in the early stages of approvals in the Town of Wawayanda.
Yun noted that a key trend going forward is that for-sale inventory has been increasing of late and is expected to continue next year.
Fernandez, who has served as HGAR’s CEO since September 2023, was among three award winners. She joined HGAR after having served as CEO of the Greater Louisville Association of Realtors.
Cohens Fashion Optical signed a 10-year lease for 1,520 square feet at Dunning Farms in Middletown.
The $32-million project consists of renovating, improving and maintaining the life plan community, consisting of 222 residential rental units, administrative spaces and the common amenities.
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