Contributed Graphic AN ARCHITECT'S RENDITION of how the current Stow Mini Storage property on Jefferson Street in Monticello will be transformed by developer Peter Ferraro.

Transforming Jefferson St.

By Dan Hust
MONTICELLO — November 23, 2007 — Peter Ferraro dreams in double-vision.
His 14 acres along Jefferson Street in Monticello may someday feature not one but two hotels, not one but two restaurants, not one but a host of stores and self-storage units.
Actually, it’s already got the self-storage units, and many a county resident recognizes it by the name of Stow Mini Storage.
Bumping up against Route 17 – the future Interstate 86 – on the back side, the property is in a spot Ferraro views as part of “a natural progression of expansion in this part of the county.”
“There’s a renaissance on Jefferson St.,” he said, pointing out the new professional buildings that have been and are being built just down the road.
Indeed, Jefferson has long been the primary western route into and out of the village. Locals on their way to Middletown or city residents en route to Bethel Woods and the Delaware River valley pass close by, as well.
But it’s also become a destination – on one end is Monticello Gaming and Raceway and 17’s Exit 104, while on the other sits the Sullivan County Government Center and the beginning of Broadway’s business district. In between are longtime go-to businesses like Kapito Tire, Tilly’s Diner, Schmidt’s Wholesale and Medi-Fair.
That’s why Ferraro’s not pinning his aspirations on local casinos.
“There’s definitely a growth spurt here I see happening,” he remarked.
So this Tuesday during the 7 p.m. Monticello Planning Board meeting at the village hall, he hopes to hear that board members are eager and willing to work with him to gain the needed approvals to build two four-story, 150-room hotels (one at 110,000 square feet and one at 86,000), a 25,000-square-foot mall, two 5,000-square-feet-each restaurants and a two-story, 600-unit self-storage facility (about 50,000 square feet).
While expectations are that up to 300 jobs will be created, who will occupy these spaces remains uncertain.
All Ferraro would say is, “I am in the process of talking to several chains myself.”
The mall would likely feature local retailers as well as a few national ones, he added, but the two-phase project is only now getting going, so announcements of tenants may be some time off.
Ferraro, who’s spent much of his professional life developing and managing self-storage businesses and other commercial interests he owns in the tri-state area, thinks that the coming racetrack at the old Monticello Airport and the Port Authority’s acquisition of Stewart Airport in Newburgh will help generate business.
“I kind of look at it as the pond ripple effect,” he explained
Certainly the dearth of lodging is generating interest.
“I think there’s a need for a hotel in this area,” he explained. “…People need a place to stay when they come up here.
“I just see an opportunity here… and I think this will definitely be a boost to the area.”