Ulster’s town board held public hearings during a meeting on Thursday, January 19 to support work at the proposed iPark 87 development. The town board voted unanimously to approve a letter of support to secure funding through Restore New York.
Ulster County economic development director Tim Weidemann was on hand to speak about amended plans for grant funded work at iPark 87, the former TechCity, which Greenwich, Connecticut-based National Resources is marketing as a vast manufacturing and logistics space for the 21st century. The county is competing for a $10-million Restore New York grant, the $250-million state funding program announced last summer designed, in Weidemann’s words, “to remediate and address blighted buildings and economic development.”
With the first $100 million in Restore New York grants already disbursed elsewhere throughout the state, projects like iPark87 are polishing their pitches for $10-million allocations of the remaining $150 million. Ulster County is now amending its task to cover needed work on two buildings rather than the five in its initial proposal.
Weidemann said that former IBM buildings 001 and 021, which need an estimated $61.42 million in work, were ideally suited for the state grant. Building 001 has been earmarked as the site of two different battery manufacturing concerns.
The estimated total cost includes $17.1 million for plumbing, heating and air conditioning upgrades, $10.5 million in electrical work, $9.32 million in roof repairs, $6.58 million in engineering and construction management costs; $3.4 million for hazardous materials abatement, $2.73 million for grounds restoration, $2.1 million for fire and security systems, $1.89 million for new windows and doors, and $1.25 million for structural frame restoration to ensure the buildings don’t collapse.
There was no time to waste. The application has to be submitted to the state by this Friday, January 27. “We believe that the iPark 87 project, which combines housing, industrial and commercial space and ultimately other uses, is a perfect example of an application of this program,” Weidemann said. “It’s the adaptive reuse of buildings that have sat vacant for far too long.”
In addition to the million square feet of manufacturing and logistics space, National Resources plans from October 2022 include a further 300,000 square feet to accommodate food and other manufacturing space, along with a planned hydroponics facility. A medical complex and wellness center with schools for nursing and hospital management and a medical mall and onsite health club are sketched out for space. So are an arts center and a food hub, including a brewery and distillery.
At the philosophical heart of iPark 87 is what National Resources claims will be the first zero-carbon footprint residential community in the country, powered entirely by renewable energy. The planned 600-home community on the southern side of the site will be constructed from sustainable building materials. Given the lack of affordable workforce housing in Ulster County, Ulster town government has pushed for the housing component to be built early in the development process.
Only electric vehicles will be permitted to enter the residential campus. A portion of the food consumed here will be grown on campus.
National Resources purchased the former TechCity in early June of last year. The property deeds for the parcels were transferred to the Ulster County Economic Development Alliance and then sold to National Resources for $5 million to be paid over a five-year period, with a commitment to cover a minimum of $7 million in environmental cleanup costs, removal of debris, and completion of interior demolition of abandoned buildings.
Weidemann said National Resources had been a good partner, but needed assistance from both the county and the town to secure state grant funding.
“We’ve been in conversations, as you know, with National Resources since they approached the county with interest in the site, and have continued to support them in various ways as they seek to raise the funds that’ll be necessary to redevelop this campus, which overall is expected to be in excess of $200 million,” Weidemann said.
Speaking in support of the grant application, Regis Obijiski of TownofUlsterCitizens.org said the success of iPark 87 was vital to the region.
“I think that the developer has done an astonishing job in keeping to his word and investing and putting his money where his promises lie,” Obijiski said. “And I think that the county and the town have done likewise, just a remarkable job so far. It’s the most exciting thing going on in the region, and the caliber of businesses that are being recruited to be on this site really have national significance. Certainly it’s very important for this town, certainly very important for the county, but it has national significance.”
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