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Looking Ahead to Dover’s Future - Marketing Study Promises Exploration of Business Options
1994
by Christopher Shave
Taconic Newspapers
The fate of the Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center campus in Wingdale is, in part, in the hands of the state Urban Development Corp. (UDC).
A task force created by the UDC is looking into possible uses for the 961-acre campus on Route 22 and has authorized two studies of he site, one of which is almost complete, according to Steven Vitoff, a UDC spokesman.
Vitoff said $55,000 marketing study underwritten by the UDC is being printed and should be available in the next couple of weeks. That study took a broad look at the issues relating to the fate of the site.
While details of the study are not yet available, Vitoff said the possibility of a private corporation buying the site and creating some form of senior citizen housing was investigated. In addition, the study looks at what effect the Harlem Valley Secure Center, a Division for Youth facility on the campus, could have on the marketing and potential sale of the property.
A second study
The second study, just commissioned, will take a closer look at what is needed in the local area and will also determine the value of the site.
Vitoff said there is not time frame for completion of the second study.
When asked if the UDC would support a private business over a public agency, or the reverse, Vitoff said there are “no forgone conclusions here on any future plans.”
The committee which consists of UDC representatives, Dutchess County officials, members of the Harlem Valley Partnership and officials from other state agencies has been meeting on a monthly basis for about six months.
Vitoff said as lead agency, the UDC is charged with developing a plan for the statues campus’ future.
“It’s a joint undertaking,” Vitoff said. State officials involved in the process include the state Office of Mental Health (which has run the facility for the past 70 years), the Office of General Services and the Medical Care Facilities Agency.
He said the UDC is charged with feasible and responsible economic development. “It’s worth noting the UDC’s principal mission is to promote economic health (and) to seek the maximum economic benefit around the state,” Vitoff said.
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