KINGSTON – Ulster County Government closed on the sale of the former IBM Kingston West Campus in the Town of Ulster to National Resources, the real estate development company that previously purchased the majority of the larger East Campus portion of the property.
National Resources has begun renovating the East Campus facility to create iPark 87, a 200-acre site with one million square feet of existing buildings, two million square feet of to-be-built warehouse and commercial space, and 800 units of workforce housing located off I-87 Exit 19.
The final sale price of the western portion of the property was $6.8 million, payable to the County over 10 years in equal installments. The agreement also includes the company paying back taxes and utilities for the property, bringing the total amount payable to the county to approximately $7.34 million.
The county also executed an agreement with National Resources to sell the last foreclosed parcel on the former IBM Kingston East Campus, marking the last step in transitioning the long-derelict property to an industry hub for the green economy.
“With these agreements we are completing the transfer of the entire property to iPark 87,” said Ulster County Executive Jen Metzger. “Now, National Resources can get to work signing leases with cutting-edge companies seeking to locate there, and we can move forward on building out our new Workforce Innovation Center and creating a pipeline for local labor into these new family-sustaining jobs.”
“We are excited to move forward with phase 2 of iPark 87 with the acquisition of the West Campus,” said Joe Cotter, president of National Resources. “We look forward to the continued support from the state, county, and the town to bring this bold and challenging project to completion.”
IN March it was announced that Zinc8, a new large-scale zinc-based battery manufacturing company, would build on the property, which will bring over 500 middle-class jobs to Ulster County alone. Other green energy economy companies are also planning to locate their operations on the site, including Cadenza, another battery storage company.
The Center will involve a collaboration between Ulster County Government, SUNY New Paltz, SUNY Ulster, Ulster BOCES, community-based organizations, and the trades; and serve as a magnet for cutting edge companies to locate at the site. These employers will co-create curriculum so that people who train at the facility can step into jobs at these companies immediately upon completion of training programs.
