Developers pump up expansion

Influx may be due to Sept. 11

By Craig Wolf
Poughkeepsie Journal

 

Darryl Bautista/Journal A dump truck moves through the site of the future Extended Stay America Hotel in the Westage Business Center in the Town of Fishkill Wednesday. At left is the Vassar Brothers Medical Mall.

Southern Dutchess County has been discovered by commercial developers, leading to the prospect of new or expanding employers, people in the field say.

They're out there looking despite the talk of a slow recovery that may slip into a double dip. And the Sept. 11 attacks on New York City may be encouraging some to look north.

Who is the typical shopper looking for space?

''An established company that's growing is going to be looking for expansion space,'' said Ted A. Petrillo, vice president of Westage Corp., which is marketing acreage in Fishkill and Beacon.

Eatery moving in

Right now, one of the parcels Westage sold is in early stages of construction as Extended Stay America moves earth to make way for a new hotel. Next door, Vassar Brothers Medical Mall, which Westage developed with the Poughkeepsie-based hospital, is still filling up.

A plan for a KFC-A&W restaurant was recently delivered to the Town of Fishkill Planning Board for a nearby site.

Westage is also working on a plan for a 17-acre parcel at the eastern tip of Beacon on Route 52 which it would subdivide for light industrial space, aimed at companies wanting from 5,000 to 25,000 square feet.

When it comes to industrial sites, ''There's nothing shovel-ready in the county,'' and this project aims to remedy that, Petrillo said.

''We haven't seen much effect of the economic slowdown,'' Petrillo said. ''Our product development cycle is so long, by the time the shovel hits the ground, you're committed.''

For example, the first call about Extended Stay America's interest came 18 months ago, he said. The company is headed by his father, also named Ted Petrillo.

Current interest remains strong, said Tom LaPerch, a broker with McGrath Associates in Hopewell Junction, a commercial realty firm. Dutchess has caught the attention of the metropolitan market.

''What's shaking is a lot of interest, a lot real good interest instead of just tire-kicking,'' LaPerch said. ''The frequency of contacts is higher than it has been in a while. We're just waiting to kind of land one.''

''New York City, Westchester -- they found us,'' he said. ''We're on the radar screen now.''

For a year, the real estate world has wondered whether companies displaced or even troubled by the Sept. 11 attacks would be spurred to seek sites outside the metro area. LaPerch sees signs this is happening now.

''I think it's mostly the 9-11 effect,'' he said. ''It's been a year. And what you're seeing now is people finally sitting down and saying maybe we should expand our vision a little more. People are just finding out how good it is right now, in terms of location and quality of life.''

Scouting activity is high these days, said Ronald Coan, president and chief executive of Dutchess County Economic Development Corp.

Westchester generates ''a lead a month'' including ''one right now that is possible, serious, good-sized,'' he said.

The lookers are not distribution companies like Gap Inc., which built nearly 2 million square feet of warehouse space in Fishkill. ''We're not actually seeking them, either,'' Coan said.

One of the hottest spots for development is the southwest corner of the Route 9 intersection with Interstate 84, home to Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, the Hudson Valley Towne Center shopping cluster, the Vassar Brothers Medical Mall and the Westage office building.

Much of this territory is known as Westage Business Center, the first part of which is the 120,000-square-foot commercial office building which bears that name. Westage has about 20 acres of mostly flat land in the area, of which 15 are usable for future development.

''We have marketed it as a whole parcel previously and were looking for a big-box user, and that hasn't happened,'' Petrillo said. ''Big box'' means a large store, like Wal-Mart.

Restaurant is set to open

Instead, the land is being offered in smaller parcels to more lively segments of the market, which attracted the new hotel and the KFC-A&W restaurant.

There has been some concern the huge development in the area would bury it in traffic. But widenings of Route 9, improvements to Route 52 and a double-wide exit on Interstate 84 have upgraded traffic capacity.

Margaret Ouart has seen Route 9 traffic from the Companion Animal Hospital, south of the village, since 1983. ''I haven't noticed any difference,'' she said. ''It's always been busy on Route 9. It's hard to detect any difference.''

It's shaping up as a different story in East Fishkill, where some residents have told town officials they worry about the impact of proposed commercial and industrial development on their residential areas and roads.

A proposed industrial park off Lime Kiln Road in East Fishkill could prove popular among companies looking for a site close to I-84 and the Taconic State Parkway. LaPerch said he's been showing the land to candidates. Lack of public sewer and water infrastructure is a detriment, however.

LaPerch said developer Frank Buyakowsi put up an office plaza in Wiccopee near the IBM Corp. plant.

''He leased it up in six months,'' LaPerch said.