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Psych Center Plan: Move Fast - Officials Ready for Developer’ Bids
1996
by Harvey Auster
The Poughkeepsie Journal
WINGDALE – Officials trying to find new uses for the Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center say their next goal is to get the state to move quickly.
A regional task force worked for several months to develop a plan for the 961-acre center, which closed in 1994. It now is ready to hand off the plan to the state, which owns the center, and start soliciting proposals from potential developers.
But state officials may not be prepared to move as quickly as local officials would like. Henry Mund of the Empire State Development Corp. said state officials are looking at the fall to proceed with the plan. The Harlem Valley task force would like to see some action this summer.
The task force held its second public hearing on the reuse plan last week, but no one from the public attended.
Task force Chairwoman Kathy Schibanoff views that as a good sign.
“I told state representatives who were there that people down here had talked all this out, and now they want some action.”
At an earlier public hearing, local residents were generally supportive of the plan, although they did have some concerns about portions of the plans, such as continuing to use part of the center to house correctional officers.
State OK needed
Now that the local task force has finalized its plan, the state must give its approval.
The plan recommends a mixed-use development that would include senior citizen housing, a commercial area and light industrial uses.
The task force estimated that the plan would provide about 1,000 jobs and $3 million in tax revenue.
“Our timetable is somewhat different from theirs,” Schibanoff said of the state’s process. She said local residents would like to see quick action because “we have several developers standing in line waiting to make their proposals.”
But Mund said in a telephone interview this week that “this summer may be a bit overly optimistic.”
He said it could take three months or more before the state is ready to ask for development proposals. One reason, he said, is that the center is only one of about 20 the state is trying to redevelop.
Otto Sprossel, deputy supervisor in the Town of Dover, is among those hoping for quick action. He said he’s worried that the vacant buildings will continue to deteriorate as long as they remain vacant.
Schibanoff agreed and added that deterioration of the buildings is not the only problem. She also noted that delays add to the cost of the interest on the bonds on the property. The bonds – money borrowed by the state to make improvements to the facilities on the campus – now total about $19 million.
Under ordinary circumstances, anyone wanting to buy the site would have to assume the $19 million debt, but officials fear that would kill any hope of marketing the center.
The state and local officials hope to find a way to deal with the bond issue.
The district’s two lawmakers, state Sen. Vincent Leibell and Assemblyman Willis Stephens, Jr. both Republicans, have said they are working to pave the way for legislative actions should that be necessary.
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