What was for decades a correctional facility near the heart of Beacon, could soon be many things:
An educational space, with adult and children’s classrooms.
A community garden. A commercial kitchen.
Space for sports. Space for artists.
Restaurant space. A hotel boasting 103 rooms.
Each of these components are included in a multi-faceted development that would encompass the 39-acres of land that formerly was known as the Beacon Correctional Facility.
The $62 million project is expected to create 295 construction jobs and 150 to 250 permanent jobs, according toEmpire State Development in a release announcing the project.
Urban Green Food's proposal was selected by the state, after a request for proposals was issued last year. Details of the proposal’s execution still would need to be ironed out, and the project still needs the city’s approval to move forward.
However, Beacon Mayor Randy Casale, one of several local officials who were involved in the state’s decision, called it a “win-win for everybody.
“I think we got exactly what we were looking for as an advantage to our community and region,” he said. “I think this does everything we are looking for it to do.”
The space, located one mile from the city’s booming downtown, has gone unused since the all-women’s facility closed in 2013. Before last year the state had previously sent a request for proposals in 2014. It received one, from The Doe Fund, a New York City-based nonprofit that aims to provide transitional services for homeless and those with a history of incarceration. But it was eventually pulled amid questions from local officials.
Eric Anderson, Urban Green Builders principal, said in a statementthat the company is excited to work on the project that "uniquely combines some of our greatest passions —hospitality, agriculture, sports and recreation — in a town and in a valley we've long loved and admired."
The project would also provideopportunities for local businesses to expand, according to the release.
Project features
The company is partnering with local businesses Common Ground Farm and All You Knead Bakery to make the project work.
The proposal, according to the state calls for the creation of:
- Sports facilities
- A 103-room hotel
- Event and restaurant space
- A community garden
- A commercial kitchen
- A landscape design and nursery business
- Adult and children classrooms
- Space for artists
"This project is a great example of how a former prison can be re-imagined to create new jobs and foster local and regional economies and community growth," Howard Zemsky, president and CEO of Empire State Development, said in therelease.
Urban Green Foods will have access to up to $6 million in grants through the State and Municipal Facilities Program, which could be used to cover capital costs for the project.
As it stands, the campus includesincludes 22 buildings of varied uses; dormitories, administrative offices, a kitchen, barn, greenhouse and a chapel among them.
While the concept has been accepted, no specific plans regarding how buildings will look or where new ones will be built is yet known. However, Casale said he believes former inmate quarters may be renovated as hotel rooms.
"I think they are going to try to reuse a lot of buildings that are up there," he said. "And then build some other stuff on site."
Potential hurdles
Though it’s been accepted by the state, Urban Green Foods’ plan is still simply a proposal. And, there have been concerns that have risen regarding traffic in, out and around the site, which includes schools and another correctional facility.
Casale said such concerns could be smoothed in the planning process.
"There are two ways in and two ways out," he said. "I think their times will be different, controlled different from the school times because you really got have two schools and a prison on the property. That's what you got on the road out there. There are set times like school goes in between 7 and 8 a.m.The prison goes in at 6 in the morning."
Town of Fishkill Supervisor Bob Lacolla is confident in the project.
“There’s risks in any new development, but I think this developer has resources to see this plan through,” he said. “It requires some approval from the City of Beacon to green light the project. We’re hopeful the community comes through. This is going to require some buy-in from the community to make it happen.
Site's history
For more than 30 years, the Beacon Correctional Facility housed minimum-security inmates. It was a source of jobs for residents and revenue for the surrounding area.
In 1981, the state announced plans to move around 100 minimum-security inmates to buildings outside the walls of Fishkill Correctional Facility, which, until several years earlier, were part of the Matteawan State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. The site was dubbed “Camp Beacon.”
Ten years later, it was changed to an all-women’s facility, which it remained until 2013, when it was closed as part of a push to decommission under performing correctional facilities around the state. When the decision was made, Beacon had 96 inmates and 92 employees, including 64 security personnel.
The Doe Fund'sproposal called for creating a food processing and distribution hub that would wash, pack, process and distribute produce from local, small and mid-sized farms. The site would also have a working farm and a youth education program.
However, local officials voiced concerns, namely what the payment in lieu of property taxes would be. The Doe Fund pulled the proposal soon after.
Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro called the proposal “expansive, aggressive and exciting.
“The City of Beacon has been a special part of Dutchess County that has seen significant growth,” he said. “We’re hopeful this investment will support this.”
Staff writer A.J. Martelli contributed to this report. Ryan Santistevan: rsantistev@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4809; Twitter:@NewsByRyan_
