The developer behind 575 homes for Adult 55+ in Orangetown has withdrawn from the project. K. Hovnanian told Orangetown that their plans to build senior housing on 80 acres formerly part of the Rockland Psychiatric Center no longer made financial sense given the downtown in the economy.
Orangetown Supervisor Paul Whalen told the Journal News that Hovnanian still owes Orangetown $30,000. “We were fortunate to get a good deal of environmental research from the Hovnanian-funded SEQRA process, which can be used for any future project,” says Orangetown Councilman Michael Maturo. “Their decision represents a short-term challenge but a long-term opportunity for us to attract a sustainable interest in the valuable property at RPC.”
Orangetown has a town board workshop meeting on Tuesday, 3/2 at 8p. It will be carried live on FIOS Channel 30.
According to the Orangetown Website, the $24 million deal was the “most significant land transaction in the Town’s 300-year history.” Orangetown purchased 348 acres of the Rockland Psychiatric Center from New York State for $5.9 million in 2003. Hovnanian’s development was forecast to add $325 million of annual tax revenue.
Sources: Journal News 2/27/2010, Orangetown.com
Sounds like Orangetown dodged a bullet for only $30k.
Could have been a lot worse if the developer say already owned or had an exclusive agreement or lease on the property in question.
While I admire Maturo’s attempt to put lipstick on this short term challenge type pig, the fact remains that the seqra finding is specific to a residential use I think and so limited at best. I’m skeptical it represents any specific opportunity on any broader scale, but good luck with that anyway.
Ever since the word partner has become commonly used as a verb recently to refer to joint ventures between private and public entities we should regard this article as a cautionary tale when we consider similar large scale development proposals a little closer to home.
Like I said $30k is a cheap lesson in risk management.