Beacon lands rivers center

Facility will mix research and education

By Dan Shapley
Poughkeepsie Journal

 

Lee Ferris/Poughkeepsie Journal A view of Denning's Point is seen from Beacon Landing off Long Dock Road in Beacon. Officials say Denning's Point has been chosen as the location for the Rivers and Estuaries Center on the Hudson.

The state has chosen Beacon for the home of the coveted Rivers and Estuaries Center on the Hudson and will announce its choice Monday, sources familiar with the state's plans told the Journal.

The Beacon police department confirmed Gov. George Pataki is expected in the city Monday. Several people confirmed on condition of anonymity that he will announce plans to build the research center in Beacon.

More than three years ago, Pataki announced his intention to build the center, which he envisions as a worldwide hub for scientific research on rivers and estuaries like the Hudson.

Pataki's office did not return a phone call Friday.

County Executive William Steinhaus said, ''I'm fully aware of what site has been selected,'' but would not comment further.

Clara Lou Gould, mayor of Beacon, said she was not aware Beacon had been selected. ''I'm crossing my fingers,'' she said.

The site for the project is state land known as Denning's Point at the southern edge of Beacon's waterfront, near the mouth of Fishkill Creek.

500 jobs expected

The research center is expected to employ 500 and draw as many as 7,000 visitors each year, according to the state's strategic plan. Its annual budget would eventually be $63 million, and $132 million would be spent during a four-year construction that won't begin this fiscal year.

''The news just keeps on getting better and better for the people of Beacon,'' said John Forman, a county legislator representing Beacon, who heard the news Friday. ''We used to have factories and Nabisco. ... All those jobs went away. This is really good for Beacon.''

Communities up and down the Hudson have tried to attract the center, including Fishkill, Poughkeepsie, Kingston and Newburgh.

It has been heralded as a boon for scientific, educational and economic vitality -- but the state's budget crisis has clouded its future.

Pataki's budget proposal includes $750,000, which officials have said would be used for architectural and environmental studies, not construction.

Private funds pledged

The choice of a Dutchess County site also means the Dyson Foundation will contribute $5 million. That offer is still good, Executive Director Diane Gurieva said Friday.

Dutchess County also has pledged $750,000, and that amount remains in a capital reserve account for the project, Brad Kendall, chairman of the Dutchess County Legislature, said Friday.

Ultimately, the state envisions the center being built and running on a combination of state, federal and private money.

In an interview last week, Gould spoke about what the Rivers and Estuaries Center would mean to Beacon, which has experienced a renaissance along Main Street and is anticipating the opening this spring of the Dia:Beacon arts center, a huge contemporary art museum.

''The jobs it would create and the connection with the schools would be so wonderful,'' Gould said. ''That really would be the thing.''

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