|
Harlem Valley Officials to Close Deals on Two Centers
06.06.2000
by Elizabeth Lynch
Poughkeepsie Journal
The sale of the Wassaic Developmental Center is on schedule, but the deal for the Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center is taking longer than expected.
"We are anxious to get these things going. It's been a long time coming," said Kathy Schibanoff, executive director of the Harlem Valley Partnership, a local economic development agency.
The two properties were among the state-owned properties put up for sale as state agencies that served the mentally ill and developmentally disabled moved away from institutions and toward community-based treatment. Local officials are anxious to see the sales of the developmental center in the Town of Amenia and the psychiatric center in the Town of Dover move forward.
The psychiatric center is "a thousand-acre campus that has infrastructure - water, sewer, electric," said Town of Dover Supervisor Jill Way. "Whatever happens regarding redevelopment of that campus literally could make or break the town."
Last June, the state announced plans to sell 885 acres of the 961-acre psychiatric center for $3.95 million to TP Enterprises, a joint venture of Queens-based Tully Construction Co. and Manhattan-based Pearson Partners, Inc.
TP plans a mixed-use development that would include a senior-citizens living facility, retail and office space and light industrial operations.
"Here we are a year later," Schibanoff said. "Everything takes a while and we've just learned to accept it."
One obstacle to closing the deal is the presence of a 180-bed juvenile detention center on the Harlem Valley campus.
The state legislature this year allocated $9.2 million for land acquisition and engineering studies for a new detention center. But as in years past, state lawmakers have failed to budget money for building a facility.
"We're looking to be in a new facility in three years," said Bill Van Slyke, a spokesman for the state Office of Children and Family Services, which oversees the detention center.
Local officials are optimistic. "It's going to take time for them to plan that transition. I would expect to see that issue resolved in the very near future," Way said.
Buyer investigating property
The youth detention center is "a major factor, (but) it's not the only factor, said Paul Benjamin, spokesman for TP Enterprises. The sale remains in the due diligence stage - the part of a real estate deal where the buyer can investigate to determine what problems he may face once he's the owner. The due-diligence period is scheduled to expire the end of this month, but a closing date has not been scheduled, said Benjamin.
"We were told a while back that they were hoping to have a closing on the Harlem Valley property in June," said Schibanoff. "It's June. We're hoping. We're hoping."
The deal to see the Wassaic property is less complicated, and Schibanoff said she is not surprised to see it moving forward smoothly. In April, plans were announced to sell 374 acres of the 770-acre developmental center to Allan and Julie Shope, part-time Amenia residents, for $800,000. Contracts were signed two weeks ago and a closing is expected the third week of December.
"There's no reason that won't occur," Shope said. "The funds are sitting in an escrow account and we're waiting to make it happen."
The state Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, which operates the Wassaic facility, said it no longer has any operations on the portion of the campus that is being sold. Shope plans to operate a tree farm and to donate proceeds from the tree sales to the Dutchess Land Conservancy, of which Shope is a board member.
» Back to Top | Back to List
|
