GOSHEN – The ceremonial groundbreaking for the Tri-State Logistics Center off Route 17M in Goshen was held Tuesday morning.
At 500,000 square feet and on 83 acres, the project is the largest spec-build facility ever proposed in Orange County and represents an approximately $40 million investment.
The Tri-State Logistics Center will act as a logistics and distribution warehouse. Executive Leasing Agent Tom Consiglio said with the huge influx in e-commerce, the need for industrial warehouse space has grown four-fold in a very short time. He added that the location is so well placed and strategic, they’re dubbing it the “Orange Alternative” when pitching to companies looking to lease in the Tri-State area outside of New York City.
“We’re pretty close to Boston, as well as Washington D.C. and that covers about a third of the population in the United States. With that, it brings a lot of consumer goods that need to be supported and we’re so close enough to the Port of Newark to bring product here and distribute it throughout the region,” said Consiglio. “We think it’s a great opportunity. The location is super and we’re looking forward to bringing a new company, or multiple companies, here to Goshen, New York.”
Consiglio said that it might not necessarily be Amazon, who also recently set up shop in the county, moving into the center, but there are a number of other companies, affiliate companies and 3rd party logistics companies looking to take advantage of that development.
County Executive Steve Neuhaus said following the economic strain of COVID on the county and its residents, this development could not have come at a better time.
“Even now, I mean we’re going through a second wave of COVID. You’re seeing major companies shut down across the country,” said Neuhaus. “People are losing their jobs; I just finished a meeting with my employment training office. So, the fact that we can offer more jobs now when people need it- it’s going to be critical. The timing couldn’t be better,” he said.
Developer GFI Partners is currently working with the Orange County Partnership to see what types of development incentives will best fit the project. GFI Partners Managing Director Brian Poitras said they may be looking for a PILOT, but nothing is set in stone yet.
“All that stuff are things that we’ll be discussing, if it’s tenant specific,” said Poitras. “They have a lot of good programs here to help drive economic development and we’re in the process of figuring out which ones make the most sense,” he said.
