By Fred Stabbert III
WURTSBORO —January 12, 2001 - The first shovelsful of what promises to be one of the biggest projects ever built in Sullivan County were turned last week as construction crews from Wisconsin arrived at the site of the new Kohl’s distribution center on Route 209, one mile north of the village of Wurtsboro.
“They have a partial building permit,” Darlene Reynolds, the Mamakating Building Inspector and Planning Board Clerk, said yesterday morning. “The permit is for limited site work and the foundation and building pad for a 500,000-square-foot building.
“They have been here about a week and work has begun,” Reynolds said.
An office trailer has already been moved onto the building site, according to Reynolds.
“It’s a good sign, a sign they are committed,” County Manager Dan Briggs said. “I’m optimistic that Sullivan County is finally making the turn [to economic recovery].”
The builders on the new Kohl’s project are Thomas & Egenhoefer, Inc. of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, which is also the hometown of the Kohl’s Department Stores’ corporate headquarters.
The two-year permit was issued on December 21, 2000 and while no completion date has been set, officials said it could be operable within two years.
The proposed project has already received many of the necessary permits from various Mamakating town boards and has been OK’d by the Sullivan County Industrial Development Agency (IDA).
Sullivan County Partnership for Economic Development President Michael J. Sullivan was instrumental in helping Kohl’s receive many of the necessary permits and siting them in the Sullivan County.
When fully operable, Kohl’s distribution warehouse will employ nearly 900 people at a minimum starting salary of $10 an hour plus benefits.
Located across the street from Wurtsboro Airport, the building lot is zoned Industrial.