Westchester Developer Seeks Deal On $300M Project at Camp LaGuardia

A preliminary rendering of the Village Center component of the development proposal for Camp LaGuardia in Orange County.

By JOHN JORDAN

GOSHEN, NY – The Orange County Legislature paved the way for the $12-milllion sale of the storied Camp LaGuardia property to Scarsdale, NY-based Mountco Construction and Development Corp. The Westchester Countybased firm is planning a $300- million mixed-use project at the site.

On Sept. 4 the Orange County Legislature voted 18-2 in favor of the Mountco proposal. The vote was preceded by the Aug. 20 approval of the bid by the Physical Services Committee of the County Legislature to have the Mountco bid go before the full Legislature. If allowed to close, Mountco will have bested two other bidders for the property, including a plan to establish Aristotelian University on the 258-acre parcel. That plan, that also included hundreds of housing units, was part of a proposal that called for paying the county more than $10.5 million for the Camp LaGuardia property.

The vote by the Orange County Legislature did not finalize a sales agreement but allowed Mountco and Orange County Executive Edward Diana to begin negotiations on the sale. The approximate $12-million purchase price is contingent on obtaining local approvals and the final density of the project.

Interviewed prior to the full County Legislature’s affirmative vote Joel B. Mounty, president of Mountco Construction and Development Corp., said he was pleased with the Physical Services Committee’s approval of its proposal. He said that if approved by the County Legislature he would work diligently with the three communities (Town of Chester, Village of Chester and Town of Blooming Grove) about processing the necessary approvals.

The plan, which he valued at approximately $300 million, calls for 807 units of housing, which will include a mix of single-family, townhouse, multi-family and senior housing. The company’s original plan submitted to the county called for 539 rental units, 147 home ownership residences and 121 units of senior housing. A key component of the plan now calls for several hundred thousand square feet of commercial development, including 10,000 square feet of space for a satellite campus for Mount Saint Mary College of Newburgh on the Camp LaGuardia property.

Mr. Mounty said of the housing component of the project, “the emphasis in our development is on affordable and workforce housing. Basically housing for the people of Orange County.”

The original Mountco plan called for approximately 48,000 square feet of village-oriented retail, 38,000 square feet of retail, and 150,000 square feet of office space.

Mr. Mounty said that the project would likely take three to five years to fully build out. While he would only say that he would like to break ground as soon as possible, he noted that the project must be approved by the three affected municipalities and go through the required environmental and site plan reviews.

The plan has been well received thus far by the Town of Chester, Village of Chester and Town of Blooming Grove. Mr. Mounty noted that all three localities were supportive of the proposal when it went before the vote of the Physical Services Committee. Another positive for the project is that Mountco has retained Saccardi & Schiff, Inc., the White Plains-based planning firm that worked on the Orange County Master Plan. “They are very familiar and comfortable with Orange County. So we are not putting a square peg into a round hole.”

Orange County government issued a Request for Proposals in August of last year for the sale of the property. Earlier in the year, Orange County acquired the property from the City of New York for approximately $9.5 million.

Established as a shelter for New York City’s homeless in 1934, the facility was built in 1918 and served as a correctional facility for women until 1934 when it was transferred to the city’s Welfare Department and named “Camp Greycourt.” The camp was renamed Camp LaGuardia in 1935. The purpose of the camp was to provide temporary relief for the unemployed. Prior to World War II and through the late 1950s, the camp included a 191-acre farm, which provided food and assigned work for up to 150 residents. In its heyday the camp housed more than 1,000 homeless men from New York City. For years local residents and government leaders had tried unsuccessfully to convince New York City to shut down the shelter. The closure of Camp LaGuardia was announced in November 2006 by New York City officials as part of Mayor Bloomberg’s five-year plan to reduce homelessness in New York City by two-thirds by 2009.

The tax rateables issue is very important to the county and to the municipalities that are currently losing approximately $1.1 million in combined taxes that were being paid by the City of New York. Monroe-Woodbury School District received approximately $750,000 a year from the city; the Town of Blooming Grove $170,000; the Town of Chester $130,000 and Orange County about $100,000.

The Camp LaGuardia property, renamed the Central Orange Development Area, consists of approximately 18 buildings totaling 199,444 square feet that date back as far as 1918 when the Main Building that totals 70,836 square feet was built. Other structures were built in the 1930s and the newer facilities, such as the 43,460-square-foot Zanelli and 32,880-square-foot Pearl Building, were constructed over the past 20 years.

This is part of the September 1, 2008 online edition of Construction News.

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