Westchester Development Firm Begins Work On $300M Mixed-Use Project in Poughkeepsie

Martin Berger, development manager with EFG/Saber Heritage SC, in front of the former hospital director’s house, which is being restored, and the great beech tree, which will be saved.

TOWN OF POUGHKEEPSIE—A joint venture of Saber Real Estate North, LLC of Armonk and EnviroFinance Group, LLC of Emeryville, CA has broken ground on the $300-million redevelopment of the former Hudson River State Hospital campus here.

The project, being built on 156 acres on Route 9, calls for a mixed-use development that will include rental apartment, assisted living, hotel and retail space.

The joint venture EFG/Saber Heritage SC, LLC announced on Aug. 8 it had received site plan and subdivision approval to begin demolition of the former Hudson River State Hospital campus, which operated in the Town of Poughkeepsie from 1873 until its closure in the early 2000s.

“We are thrilled with the opportunity to transform this magnificent piece of land into a thriving, open-air community in which residents are within walking distance of top-notch restaurants, shopping, health care, education, entertainment, and beautiful nature trails—all the amenities they need to live, work and play,” said Martin Berger, development manager with EFG/Saber Heritage SC, LLC.

Hudson Heritage is being designed as an intergenerational, walkable community with 750 units of townhomes, rental apartments and assisted-living housing. The property will feature a 150-room hotel and conference center; 350,000 square feet of commercial and retail space including shops, restaurants, child care and a fitness center; 40,000 square feet of urgent and primary care medical facility/office space and a 24,700-square-foot education/performing arts center. The grounds will include walking trails and more than 60 acres of open parkland.

Charter Realty & Development of Westport, CT., is handling commercial leasing.

One of the first retail tenants to break ground at Hudson Heritage, ShopRite plans to open a 64,000-square-foot full-service, state-of-the-art supermarket later next year. The store is expected to add more than 200 jobs to the local economy.

“We are pleased to announce plans for our ShopRite of North Poughkeepsie, and look forward to providing local shoppers with the outstanding customer service, variety, value, low prices and convenient amenities that ShopRite is known for,” said Brett Wing, president, ShopRite Supermarkets, Inc., which operates ShopRite stores in the Hudson Valley, Capital Region and New Jersey. “We are especially proud to be part of this new and exciting development that is taking place at Hudson Heritage.”

The ShopRite of North Poughkeepsie is slated to open in late 2020. The store will feature an array of private-label, national brand and organic offerings, and 14 self-checkout lanes. It will also offer ShopRite from Home, where customers order online and can pick up their groceries at the store or have them delivered.

“ShopRite is a perfect addition to our Hudson Heritage community,” said Berger. “It is known for its quality products and convenience, which fits right in with our vision to give residents and visitors everything they need in one convenient location.”

The site of Hudson Heritage is neighbored by Marist College, Health Quest, Vassar Brothers Medical Center and the Culinary Institute of America,

Set against the Hudson River, the property features a High Victorian Gothic building, “the Kirkbride,” designed by Vaux, Withers & Co. The Kirkbride and five other buildings that will be preserved for adaptive reuse, and the great lawn which will be restored. The grounds were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, who designed Central Park in Manhattan.

Once completed, Hudson Heritage will create 700 permanent jobs and generate $8 million in annual property taxes, including $2 million to the town. Construction is expected to take three to six years to complete.

Last month, after securing the approval of the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency to assign the rights to financial incentives for The Collection mixed-use project here, Toll Brothers Apartment Living acquired the 2.97-acre fully approved development site for $32.76 million.

Saber Real Estate Advisors, LLC, which secured the approvals for the $136.2 million mixed-use residential development in Downtown White Plains and incentives from the Westchester County IDA, sold the property to the affiliate of Toll Brothers. Saber Real Estate Advisors based in Armonk and Hallandale Beach, FL has completed more than $1.5 billion in transactions in New York, New Jersey and Florida. Currently, Saber is developing a 126-unit multi-family development on two plots of land located at 97-111 and 100-114 Hale Ave. Also, RCB Property Holdings, a partnership of Saber, PCD Capital, and a large New York-based private equity fund, is developing a 421-unit multi-family rental development on a 13.3-acre site located at West Fort Lee Road, in the Township of Bogota in Bergen County, NJ. Most recently, Saber completed Rivertowns Square, a mixed-use master development in Dobbs Ferry, comprised of 116,000 square feet of retail, a 127-room Hilton Garden Inn and 202 units of multi-family residential rentals.