TOWN OF SOUTHEAST – With the assistance of the Putnam County Industrial Development Agency, the county’s first hotel in a generation will open early next year. That means local residents welcoming family and friends for special occasions including weddings, confirmations and Bar Mitzvahs will no longer need to arrange for overnight accommodations in Danbury, Westchester or Dutchess counties.
The 57-room property, branded and operating as part of the Clarion Group of hotels that has been constructed except for exterior requirements is located off Route 121 and I-84 in Southeast on the site of the former Fox Ridge Motel and Bum Steer Restaurant.
IDA chairman Bill Nulk said his agency provided the necessary benefits to close the deal. “The project will add new jobs to the county’s workforce but more importantly will become a resource for our tourism business and a much-needed option for visiting friends and families.”
Nulk had praise for Michael Ligouri and the Hogan and Rossi legal team for negotiating a settlement that closed the project and brought in the Ahana Hospitality Group – a Kentucky-based, family-owned company with considerable experience in the hotel business after years of delay following the economic downturn resulting from the recession of 2008 in addition to extensive legal problems.
County Executive MaryEllen Odell called the hotel a “new beginning. There is no better way to say that Putnam is open for business than with the opening of a hotel. Tourism continues to increase across Putnam annually but we have been limited to day-trippers or sending visitors outside the county for suitable lodging.”
Members of the county legislature also lauded the hotel’s opening. Legislator Toni Addonizio forecast the new business would create “as many as 15 jobs as well as expand economic growth for the entire corridor.”
Legislator Paul Jonke noted that “sales tax revenue would be generated by the new motel. This is a win-win for our taxpayers.”
Legislator Barbara Scuccimarra predicted that the new property would become an “economic driver for the entire county from Cold Spring to Carmel.”
The Fox Ridge — Bum Steer complex suffered its tragic demise when a thunderous explosion demolished the restaurant and bar as employees were preparing for the dinnertime rush. Two people were killed and five others injured when the blast leveled the facility that was caused by a buildup of methane gas.
