Construction Begins on $85-Million ‘Transformational’ Project in City of Newburgh
By John Jordan
NEWBURGH—A host of state, county and city officials were on hand for the recent ceremonial groundbreaking that officially began construction on a project that will transform a long-vacant brownfield site into an approximately $85-million, tax-revenue producing industrial asset for the City of Newburgh.
Developer and property owner Brookfield Properties, along with exclusive leasing agent Resource Realty, hosted the July 16th program for the Newburgh South Logistic Center, a speculative 422,000-square-foot distribution center on 49 acres at 700 South St.
When completed, the new building will feature 75 loading docks with a 190-foot truck court depth and a solar roof. The project will be LEED certified and has a 10-year PILOT in place and secured incentives from the Newburgh Industrial Development Agency.
Thomas P. Consiglio, principal of Parsippany, NJ-based Resource Realty, said there has already been tenant interest in the property, particularly from Northern New Jersey based companies that are seeking lower rents and taking advantage of the property’s strategic location just a one-mile drive to I-84, two miles to I-87 and eight miles to New York Stewart International Airport. In fact, Resource Realty markets the property as being able to reach one-third of the U.S. population in a one-day truck drive.
He added that the property could be divided into approximately 150,000-square-foot units, although New York City-based Brookfield and Resource Realty are hopeful of securing a sole tenant. Brookfield acquired the property last year for approximately $12.5 million.
William Pasik, senior associate industrial development for Brookfield, said the project’s general contractor Vollers of North Branch, NJ has begun site clearing work to make way for vertical construction. Todd Diorio, president of the Hudson Valley Building Trades, said the site work and concrete contracts have been secured by union contractors. He noted that the Newburgh IDA has the strongest local labor policy in Orange County, and he expects a majority of the work building the Newburgh South Logistics Center will be performed by union labor.
Among the dignitaries who spoke at the groundbreaking were Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus, Newburgh Mayor Torrance Harvey, New York State Senator Rob Rolison, State Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson, and Orange County Partnership President and CEO Conor Eckert.
Neuhaus, who is a graduate of Mount Saint Mary in Newburgh, noted the long-standing issues with the property, saying, “The obituary for this site was written decades ago. You are bringing this place back to life. The hundreds of men and women who are going to work on this and the hundreds of men and women who are going to be working here and have permanent jobs, it is transformational.”
Eckert of the Orange County Partnership said the project’s groundbreaking “marks a critical milestone for not just the community, but the county as a whole, with the transformation of a long-forgotten industrial brownfield site that many people, as the County Executive said, had written off. We partnered with a developer like Brookfield who had the vision to see the real fundamentals of the site—the market access, proximity to labor, and the momentum and tenant activity we have in the market—and take a risk in advancing this site.”
He said the project’s groundbreaking could not have been possible without the team effort by city, county, and state officials.
Mayor Harvey said the Newburgh South Logistics Center is another example of the “rebirth of a new Newburgh.” He noted, “Part of that new Newburgh is creating economic opportunities and economic stimulus for our city and our neighbors.” He noted the partnership the city has with county government and other economic development organizations, such as the Orange County Industrial Development Agency and the Orange County Partnership, as well as the building trades. “Many hands, many minds, one goal, and that is to move our city and our neighboring towns forward,” Mayor Harvey said.
This is the second joint venture in Orange County between Brookfield and Resource Realty. The two firms partnered on the development of 134 Neelytown Road in Montgomery, a 312,000-square-foot industrial building that is currently leased by PrimeSource Building Products.
Resource Realty has several other industrial projects in the pipeline in Orange County, including two ventures with Besando, which is based in Israel, on a 240,000-square-foot speculative building in Wawayanda that is close to beginning construction and a 241,000-square-foot build-to-suit development in Hamptonburgh.
