Ulster County closed on the sale of the former IBM Kingston West Campus to National Resources, the real estate development company that previously purchased the majority of the larger East Campus portion of the property.
National Resources has begun renovating the East Campus facility to create iPark 87, a 200-acre site with one million square feet of existing buildings, two million square feet of to-be-built warehouse and commercial space, and 800 units of workforce housing located off I-87 Exit 19 in the Town of Ulster, just north of the City of Kingston.
The final sale price of the western portion of the property was $6.8 million, payable to the County over ten years in equal installments. The agreement also includes the buyer paying back taxes and utilities for the property, bringing the total amount payable to the county to approximately $7.34 million.
In addition to the sale of the western campus, the County also executed an agreement with National Resources to sell the last foreclosed parcel on the former IBM Kingston East Campus, marking the last step in transitioning the long-derelict property to an industry hub for the green economy.
“With these agreements we are completing the transfer of the entire property to iPark 87,” said Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger. “Now, National Resources can get to work signing leases with cutting-edge companies seeking to locate there, and we can move forward on building out our new Workforce Innovation Center and creating a pipeline for local labor into these new family-sustaining jobs.”
“We are excited to move forward with phase 2 of iPark 87 with the acquisition of the West Campus,” said Joe Cotter, president of National Resources. “We look forward to the continued support from the State, County, and the Town to bring this bold and challenging project to completion. I want to thank County Executive Jen Metzger for her dedication to moving this project forward so we can start attracting businesses and creating jobs for local residents as soon as possible.”
Earlier work by Congressman Pat Ryan as former Ulster County Executive laid the foundation for this important milestone.
“When I served as County Executive, from day one, I focused on revitalizing our economy and delivering good-paying jobs, and I’m proud and excited to continue that work now in Congress,” Ryan said. “This deal on the west side of the former TechCity campus is another huge step forward in turning the page on nearly three decades of failure at this site, and starts a new and exciting chapter that will provide opportunity for decades to come. I want to thank County Executive Jen Metzger for her partnership and commend her leadership in bringing this critical project over the finish line.”
Metzger announced plans in her State of the County Address in February to create a Workforce Innovation Center at iPark 87.
“Shifting to a green economy isn’t just good for our climate and our health – it is also a massive job creator,” said Metzger. “Ulster County could see tens of thousands of new jobs in manufacturing, buildings, transportation, renewable energy, and other green economy sectors, if we build the skilled workforce to take advantage of these jobs. A Workforce Innovation Center on site at iPark 87 will be a magnet for investments by these companies, which care first and foremost about finding a location with the right workforce.”
In March, Governor Kathy Hochul visited the site to announce a major investment from New York State to support the siting of a new large-scale zinc-based battery manufacturing company called Zinc8 to the site, which will bring over 500 middle-class jobs to Ulster County alone. Other green energy economy companies are also planning to locate their operations on the site, including Cadenza, another battery storage company.
The Center will involve a collaboration between Ulster County Government, SUNY New Paltz, SUNY Ulster, Ulster BOCES, community-based organizations, and the trades; and serve as a magnet for cutting edge companies to locate at the site. These employers will co-create curriculum so that people who train at the facility can step into jobs at these companies immediately upon completion of training programs.
Metzger said she is also committed to making these new opportunities broadly available by expanding access.
“Too often, people who need job opportunities the most don’t have access to them because of barriers like transportation and childcare,” said Metzger. “We’re going to break those barriers down by offering childcare on site and making major investments in our UCAT system to get people there. This will become a national model for workforce development in the 21st century.”