Two Major Orange County Projects Secure Key Approvals

MONTGOMERY, NY—The more than 1-million-square-foot Amazon warehouse project here was granted approval earlier this month for a 15-year PILOT agreement by the Montgomery Industrial Development Agency that will allow the e-commerce giant to begin construction shortly on the project.

Published reports value the Amazon project at more than $75 million and L. Todd Diorio, president of the Hudson Valley Building & Construction Trades Council, recently told CONSTRUCTION NEWS that as much as 95% of the project would be built by union labor.

The Amazon project will be built on approximately 187 acres of land at 635 International Drive, at the intersection of Route 17K and Route 747 and will total 1,010,880 square feet.

The Montgomery Industrial Development Agency granted a 15-year PILOT agreement valued at $20.5 million by a 5-2 vote. The warehouse is expected to create 300 construction jobs and more than 800 jobs within two years of completion, according to a report in the Middletown Times-Herald Record.

Public officials with knowledge of the project told Real Estate In-Depth that site clearing work was expected to begin very shortly on the project, which was previously known as ‘Project Sailfish.”

Maureen Halahan, president and CEO of the Orange County Partnership, said of the Amazon project approval, “The Amazon victory is going to infuse millions of dollars into our economy and the Valley Central School District. Bluewater Partners selected the perfect location along the 17K/747 corridor which was built and designated for this type of industry. Amazon is another Fortune 500 company that will be making Orange County their home. With a capital investment of more than $75 million, adding an estimated 1,000 full time workers and keeping more than 300 local laborers working for an estimated 18 months, you cannot deny the statistics. This new attraction unequivocally equates to sustaining and supporting a strong economy in Orange County.”

Another major development project that will be manned by a large contingent from the Hudson Valley Building Trades is the estimated $500-million Danskammer Energy Plant project in Newburgh.

On Feb. 13, the Orange County Industrial Development Agency approved an extension of Danskammer Energy LLC’s PILOT agreement. The firm is currently in the Article 10 process on its proposed energy plant conversion project that will result in the development of a 535-megawatt plant to replace its aging Town of Newburgh plant.

One major project that has yet to secure approvals as yet is the $120-million, 1.3-million-square-foot distribution facility proposed by Medline. The project, which has been supported by the Hudson Valley Building Trades, has been controversial and is currently before the Town Planning Board for approval.

Mr. Diorio said that the site work and concrete work on the project performed thus far at the property have been performed by union labor.