Vows to continue warehouse development
The owner of the long-dilapidated remnants of Dutchess Mall on Route 9 is planning to redevelop the property itself after another company terminated a contract to build a massive distribution facility.
Hudson Properties LLC notified the Fishkill Planning Board over the summer that CHI/Acquisitions LLP had backed out of a deal to buy 28.9 acres of the 39.3-acre property, demolish the rundown structures and construct a 350,000-square-foot warehouse with 78 loading docks and 209 parking spaces.
(CHI stands for Crow Holdings Industrial, which is chaired by Harlan Crow, the billionaire whose relationship with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has been under scrutiny.)
The board gave conditional approval to CHI’s application in February, with the requirement that it receive approvals by Aug. 8 from the state Department of Transportation for a new entrance and other upgrades along Route 9; the Dutchess County Department of Health for sewer and water-system upgrades; and the state Department of Environmental Conservation to build near wetlands.
During the Planning Board’s July 13 meeting, Hudson Properties said it intends to continue with the project and asked for a 90-day extension to get the approvals. The board extended the deadline until Nov. 6.
“We obviously believe in it and think it’s a good development for the site,” said Christopher Fisher, an attorney representing Hudson Properties.
The warehouse would be built along the south side of the Home Depot, which is flanked on the north by the Fishkill campus of Dutchess Community College (DCC).
In addition to the warehouse, the plan approved in February calls for the installation of bike racks and six charging stations for electric vehicles, as well as a sidewalk and bus shelter on Route 9.
The property opened in 1974 as Dutchess County’s first indoor mall. Tenants have included Jamesway, Lucky Platt, Mays, Radio Shack and Waldenbooks, but the opening of the Poughkeepsie Galleria and other retail centers along Route 9 siphoned away customers and the mall closed in 2001.
Home Depot opened in 2006. Seven years later, Dutchess Marketplace, an indoor/outdoor flea market, took over the former Jamesway space but that closed in 2019. DCC then opened its campus in 2021 on the second floor of the building, signing a 15-year lease.
