Contributed Story
MONTICELLO — November 5, 2013 — The County of Sullivan Industrial Development Agency (IDA) and EPR Properties have finalized a long term development agreement for the site of the former Concord Resort.
The land subject to the Development Agreement includes 72 separate parcels aggregating to 1,736 acres. Under the terms of the agreement EPR’s subsidiary, EPT Concord II LLC, may begin work on sewer and water mains, roads and other infrastructure.
The IDA has agreed that current programs designed to provide financial incentives for new development activities and that create local jobs will remain available to EPR and its designees at the Concord Resort site for 10 years.
EPR and its development partners plans to attract up to 1 billion dollars of investment at this location over the next decade. The agreement requires minimum job creation targets be met for the programs to remain in place. Over the next 10 years no less than 1,000 new full time equivalent jobs are expected at the site.
According to EPR’s Project Executive Tim Lies, two lawsuits challenging the project have been recently dismissed. These include a Federal Court anti-trust challenge and a lawsuit against the Thompson Planning Board challenging the final site plan approval of the project.
IDA Chairman Ira Steingart has commended Lies and the Concord development team on their professional approach to this development. According to Steingart, a 20-plus year member of the Fallsburg Planning Board prior to his election to the County Legislature, “the maps, plans, reports and other submissions made on behalf of the project by it planners, Hart Howerton and engineers AKRF are as professional as I have ever seen. This project has set a new planning standard for our area.”
The Development Agreement authorizes EPR to designate developers for portions of the master planned destination resort. Monticello Raceway Management Inc., a subsidiary of Empire Resorts, operator of the Monticello Raceway and Casino have applied to IDA for development of a hotel, casino and golf resort on 400 acres to be leased from EPR Properties.
Additionally, EPR has applied to IDA on behalf of a to-be-named water park developer for construction of a water park resort on 135 acres of the site. These projects involving over $500 million in total construction cost are expected to break ground in 2014.