Ulster County Economic Dev. Office celebrates 3 projects

Kingston, NY With the continued growth of Ulster County, located two hours north of New York City, the Ulster County Economic Development Office celebrated news from three major adaptive-reuse commercial developments including The Fuller Building, a 42,000 s/f development; Kingston Ulster Airport, a 60,000 s/f facility located in adjacent to the Kingston-Ulster Airport in the town of Ulster; and Enterprise West, the former IBM campus and 400,000 s/f project with capacity for 1,700 cars in the town of Ulster.

“As New York’s first capital in 1777, Kingston has a rich history as a transportation and trade hub, and today, has become one of the State’s quickest growing metropolitans especially with the recent trend of businesses relocating and migrating to Ulster County,” said Pat Ryan, Ulster County executive. “We are thrilled to announce the latest updates from various community-focused commercial developments in Kingston and throughout the County that will continue to create a people-centered economy as part of our Ulster 2040 Plan and reinvest in our local businesses and creative and artist community, many of which are in TV & film; agriculture, food & beverage; health and wellness; and clean energy industries.”

Located at 1151-1155 Flatbush Rd., Ulster, the 60,000 s/f Kingston Ulster Airport campus sits on 14 acres close to NYS Thruway Exit 19 and the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge and adjacent to the Kingston-Ulster airport, a public-use, privately-owned airport. Originally designed by a manufacturing company, the site’s design and location make it ideal for light manufacturing or research firms due to its ample power and radiant heated floors. The airport commercial campus acquisition was completed in March 2021 by an investment group led by Duna Real Estate Group and Pioneer Realty Advisors with plans for significant site upgrades.

Duna Real Estate Group has already made major investments in Ulster County, including a $9.7 million acquisition of three artist and creative live-work loft properties in Kingston’s ascendant Midtown Arts District in 2019, the Pajama Factory at 49 Greenkill Ave., the Brush Factory at 107 Greenkill Ave. and the Shirt Factory at 77 Cornell St. The lofts, former historic factories, are mixed-use buildings and are home to over 20 businesses, supporting over 50 jobs.

“As part of our long-term, community-based investment strategy in the region, we are thrilled to be part of the creative and supportive energy in Ulster County,” said Hagai Barlev, principal of Duna. “We are proud to support the critical need for housing in Kingston with our Midtown lofts investment, and the Airport projects represent the opportunity to further support the County by driving private investment to this valuable but underutilized property.”

Located at 45 Pine Grove Ave., Kingston, The Fuller Building is a 42,000 s/f $5 million development and former shirt factory that completed Phase 2 in March 2021 by renovating their 5,800 s/f second floor, which created additional commercial retail space. Developed by Fuller Holdings, LLC and designed by architect Scott Dutton, the historic building originally dates to 1847 and now is home to several tenants including Chronogram Magazine, as well as tech companies, local artists, wellness professionals, graphic and fashion designers, and other small businesses.

“As a longtime stakeholder in Kingston, New York, our goal with The Fuller Building, along with our portfolio of projects in the city, focuses on historic preservation and restoring largely underutilized spaces and repurposing them to become a cultural and creative professional hub for the community,” said Scott Dutton, developer, architect and owner of The Fuller Building. “We’re proud that the building is also now listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places, which also opens up the opportunity to pursue Historic Tax Credits that allowed us to invest significantly and ultimately offer space to start-up businesses looking for space with affordable terms.”

Lastly, as the former IBM campus on 82 acres and a 400,000 s/f facility, originally developed in 1955, Enterprise West consists of two parcels and is located at 101-899 Enterprise Dr., Ulster. The development was recently taken over by Ulster County to reuse and launch a plan to build a creative and community-centric destination hub inclusive of manufacturing, light industrial, educational, civic, cultural, office, recreational and/or residential – all of which combined will play a key role in the economic future of the region.

With the recent expressions of interest (RFEI) in the redevelopment in February 2021, Ulster County received 22 responses from biotechnology firms, incubator/accelerator programs, higher education institutions and more, which demonstrate immediate opportunity to put the long-dormant site back to productive use, creating jobs and providing local tax revenues to the County, the Town of Ulster, and the Kingston City School district.