POUGHKEEPSIE – After asking for proof last month that a proposed new hotel in the Town of Poughkeepsie would boost tourism, the Dutchess County Industrial Development granted preliminary approval to financial incentives on Tuesday.
Empire Hotel Development is seeking a sales tax exemption and mortgage tax exemption for the $10.5 million, 93-room hotel on 8.4 acres of land.
There was only one negative vote on preliminary approval and that came from IDA Board Member Angela Flesland.
“Though I am happy to see another hotel coming to Dutchess County, I can’t support giving a tax break to a business that will primarily be giving minimum wage jobs,” Flesland, a county legislator, said. “I don’t think that is the kind of jobs that we need to support when we are giving tax incentives.”
The next step in the approval process is a public hearing followed by a final vote of the IDA board.
