$100M Romanian Distillery Project in Putman County Secures Key Approval

CARMEL, NY—Romanian spirits producer Alexandrion Group has secured site plan approval from the Town of Carmel Planning Board for its $100-million distillery project here in Putnam County.

The firm states that it plans to spend $40 million on the construction of an 118,400-square-foot distillery at 39 Seminary Hill in Carmel that will also include a visitor’s center and tasting rooms. However, the company pegged its overall investment at more than $100 million for the new U.S. distillery that will produce premium spirits tailored to the U.S. market, such as whiskey, bourbon, gin, brandy and vodka. The spirits produced at the Carmel distillery will also be exported to the 50 countries that Alexandrion Group is currently supplying, the company states.

“We are happy to announce we have achieved another milestone in our plans for the U.S., that brings us closer to our goal of opening our new distillery. The site plan approval is the first step, and with the support of the U.S. authorities, we expect to finalize this project by 2020,” Nawaf Salameh, chairman of Alexandrion Group, says.

Alexandrion Group still needs to secure construction permits and also overcome provisions in the New York State Alcoholic Beverage Control Law regarding the Tied House Rule, which is inconsistent with the federal legislation, Alexandrion stated in its press announcement.

“We strongly believe the New York authorities will stand by us and assist in resolving this issue. We want to be allowed to continue our activities outside the U.S. and not change anything we would like to do within the U.S. We will need a change in or an exemption from the regulation in order for this project to move forward,” Salameh says.

The company states that construction will start immediately after securing the building permit for the project that received $2.7 million in performance-based tax credits from New York State through the Excelsior Jobs Program.

The new distillery will create more than 100 jobs. New York State announced that Alexandrion Group had selected Putnam County for its U.S. distillery in late June.

Kenneth Schmitt, supervisor for the Town of Carmel, said the new distillery is proposed to be developed at the current location of the Paladin Center, a civilian and homeland security education venue that specializes in public safety and tactical defense training. Previously, the property was the home to Guideposts Publications for many years.

He added that the distillery is one of the largest proposed commercial projects proposed in the Town of Carmel in many years.