Mountco to develop Camp LaGuardia
College campus part of equation
The war to develop Camp LaGuardia is over and Mountco Construction is the winner.
By a vote of 18-2 and with the blessing of the county’s executive, the Orange County Legislature chose the Scarsdale-based developer to re-vamp the former homesless shelter from an eyesore to an eyecatcher.
The shelter, which had been a thorn in the side of surrounding communities for decades, was sold by New York City back to local control in mid-2006. The 1,100-bed campus was purchased by Orange County for $8.5 million, and requests for proposals were sent out no sooner than the ink was dry on the deal.
While several developers vied for the 258-acre property straddling Blooming Grove and the town/village of Chester, the county overwhelmingly voted to choose Mountco for the project.
The selection process had included pitches from a Greece-based university and from a New York City-based developer/landlord alleged to have numerous building code violations.
Mountco owner Joel Mounty proposes 807 units of housing, ranging from apartments to private homes, with an emphasis on work-force and affordable housing; 55-and-over units will be incorporated into the housing plan. A plaza will be the focal point of Mountco’s new development, which will include a mix of retail and office space.
An attractive option was added to Mounty’s $12 million purchase price and project plans during negotiations: a pledge to bring a satellite campus of Mount St. Mary College in Newburgh to the site, with an offer for future space to grow. While other satellite campuses have come and gone, Father Kevin Mackin, Mount St. Mary’s new president, is confident the 10,000-square-foot satellite proposed for southern Orange will thrive and eventually grow to serve the community.
“Needless to say, I am pleased Mountco was chosen,” said Mounty. “We are very committed to our plans to bring a quality project to the county, and have been working in this region for several years. Even though we are based in Westchester, we feel very much at home in the Hudson Valley. This will bring a mix of housing, retail and commercial space to the community with the ‘traditional neighborhood development’ theme so many people are looking for today.”
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