State Issues RFP for Former Jail Property in Dutchess County

BEACON, NY—New York State's Empire State Development Corp. reports it has issued a Request for Proposals for the purchase or long-term lease and redevelopment of the 39-acre former Beacon Correctional Facility here.

The site was formerly a minimum-security facility and closed in the fall of 2013 as part of a statewide consolidation of correctional facilities. The Beacon property includes 21 modern construction structures totaling approximately 100,000 square feet of floor area and related infrastructure. The correctional facility did not utilize perimeter security walls or fences when operational. The campus-like setting is ideal for businesses and institutions that have a need for multiple uses on a single site, state officials say. The facility is located on one mile from Beacon's downtown area and Main Street and within close proximity to Dia Beacon and Storm King.

“One of our main goals at ESD is to help local economies grow by maximizing the economic impact and new jobs generated by our investments, and we want to ensure that the redevelopment of the Beacon Correctional Facility achieves these goals,” says Empire State Development president, CEO and commissioner Kenneth Adams. “This RFP provides an opportunity to create new employment and encourage private investment in Dutchess County, which is known for its historic tourism attractions, major retail operations, and manufacturing and agricultural industries.”

Tours of Beacon will be offered on Dec. 17 and responses to the RFP are due by Jan. 15, 2015. New York State is prepared to make up to $6 million in grants available from the State and Municipal Facilities Program to assist with eligible capital costs associated with the redevelopment of the site.

The following qualify as eligible capital purposes: capital costs of construction, improvement, rehabilitation or reconstruction of facilities; acquisition of capital facilities and assets; acquisition of capital assets with at least a 10-year useful life for the sole purpose of preserving and protecting infrastructure; economic development projects sponsored by the state or municipal corporations that create or retain jobs and environmental projects sponsored by the state or municipal corporations.

The site is also eligible to host tax-free areas for new or expanding businesses through the state's START-UP NY program.

Originally home to the Matteawan State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, the site began operation as a correctional facility in 1981 and was decommissioned in the fourth quarter of 2013. In conjunction with the RFP, the City of Beacon (along with potentially the Town of Fishkill, if necessary) is expected to rezone the site in order to facilitate job-generating uses as the designated developer proposes them. As such, proposals are not required to comply with current zoning, state officials say.