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Buyer Ready to Close on Old State Hospital
11.14.1997
by Rob Seetoo
The Poughkeepsie Journal
WINGDALE - A Brewster developer hopes to soon close a deal to buy the Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center.
"I believe we have an agreement. I'm just waiting for the state to act," said Ed Heelan, of Heelan Realty and Development Corp., who is representing a consortium of developers interested in the 961-acre former mental hospital.
Efforts to sell the state-owned facility, which closed in early 1994, have been ongoing for years. Heelan said that under the proposal he's negotiating, housing for senior citizens would be the major component of the center's redevelopment.
State officials said they are "in negotiations," for the sale of the site, but would not say with whom.
I'm not going to confirm anything," said Caroline Quartararo of the Empire State Development Corp., which markets state-owned properties. Neither Heelan nor the state would comment on the asking price for the center.
And Heelan declined to identify the developers he is representing, saying only that "they're of national prominence."
He said that the addition to senior citizens housing, the developers' proposal calls for upgrading the nine-hole golf course at the center. Other uses are being considered but Heelan said it "would be premature" to talk about those before the sale is official.
"I have a high level of confidence the plans will be well-received by the community," he said. "It will be positive for the entire Harlem Valley region. "We're prepared to purchase the property now," Heelan said, when asked if he had the financing to complete the deal.
Local officials have called the redevelopment of the psychiatric center a key to rejuvenating the economy of the Town of Dover particularly and of the Harlem Valley in general.
"If we could get (the center) back on the tax rolls, then people would see a reduction in taxes," said Dover Supervisor Jill Way.
When the center closed in 1994, 114 people lost jobs. But that figure tells only part of the story. A year earlier, in February 1993, the center employed about 700 people, who cared for about 400 patients. The state no longer had need for the center as it - along with the rest of the country - moved patients out of institutions and into community settings, such s group homes.
Task force launched to sell site
Soon after the center closed, Kathy Schibanoff, executive director of the Harlem Valley Partnership for Economic Development, formed a task force of local officials, residents, and business owners to study the best uses for the property.
The task force eventually developed two possible courses that could be pursued. Both of the suggested plans included senior citizen housing, as well as retail and light industrial facilities. The partnership said the plans could create between 50 and 100 jobs.
Schibanoff and others in the community have been anxious to see the property marketed. "We're getting frustrated. It's taking forever," Schibanoff said. She said the property is a prime spot for development because of the infrastructure already there. "It has heating, electricity, a wastewater plant, and train station, and a golf course," she said.
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