Success in Orange County NY

They could have selected any apple orchard in the Northeast, but the Boston Beer Company chose to locate the new research and development center for their Angry Orchard hard cider line right here in the heart of Orange County. Angry Orchard’s 15,000 square foot R&D hub and tasting center is nestled in the middle of the Crist Apple Orchard in Walden, NY, a site that has served as one of the county’s hundreds of working farms since the mid-1700s. Angry Orchard, the nation’s #1 hard cider label, expects 50,000 tourists to visit the tasting center each year, bringing visitors from all over the valley and beyond to taste their favorite flavors– along with a few experimental varietals – and to experience the rich culture and sheer beauty of Orange County.

When Orange County became the proud home of the first new medical center built in NYS in more than 25 years, the county was left with the challenge of re-purposing two old hospitals. The former Horton Hospital in the City of Middletown became the focus of the future Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine. A diverse team of leaders had the vision, desire and where with-all to identify the right project at the right location at the right time. A college president, a city mayor, a developer and a director of medical education, recognized the positive impacts to our local economy, the educational opportunities and the enhanced delivery of healthcare services - that the opening of a medical college would provide. Developer Tony Danza stated, “The impact that Touro College will have on the county and region is tremendous. Over the next 10 years it will be a center of excellence in education.” Orange Regional Medical Center President and CEO Scott Batulis announced: “Even before the medical school opens in 2014, new educational opportunities are being woven into the fabric of the Orange Regional Medical Center.” This summer, a dozen medical students from Touro’s New York City Harlem campus started their core clerkships and, early next year, a family practice program will be launched. Starting in 2016, graduates of the Middletown campus will begin residencies at Orange Regional Medical Center. For the first time in Orange County’s history, specialists and primary care givers are receiving their education in our own backyard. With the opening of a Touro College campus in the City of Middletown, our county and region will benefit from a dramatically increased number of doctors who train and remain in the Hudson Valley. “We’re excited about the economic impact and benefits that Touro will bring to our city. City of Middletown Mayor Joe DeStefano announced, “Touro’s strong community outreach has already proven them to be a great neighbor. This economic engine will create more than 1,000 new jobs.” Dr. Ron Israelski, who’s vision germinated the idea and launched its success…. proudly boasted, “This project will make Orange County more healthy, wealthy and wise.” At its 2013 Annual Event, the Orange County Partnership presented Touro College with its Quality of Life Award for its excellence in leadership involving enhancement of life in Orange County.

High tech jobs are a penultimate prize goal in economic development. Higher incomes create stable futures for local residents, and creates an incentive for our young people to stay here in Orange County. Pratt & Whitney stepped up to the plate and are making a monumental investment in the future of Orange County. Their expansion in the Town of Wallkill created more than 100 new, high quality jobs and their investment here exceeded 140 Million Dollars. ACT was founded in 1992 as a center of excellence for the coating of jet engine parts, a proprietary high-tech process of critical importance to Pratt & Whitney.

Crystal Run Healthcare LLP is one of the fastest growing medical practices in New York State. This physician-owned, multi-specialty group medical practice provides primary care and sub-specialty medical services and, with over 1,800 employees, it is the largest for-profit employer in Orange County. Crystal Run has enjoyed exponential growth in our region over the past decade, a trend that shows no signs of slowing down: Crystal Run Healthcare will complete construction of their 62,000 SF location in the Town of Newburgh this summer and will soon begin construction on their state-of-the-art 74,000 SF medical center in the Village of Monroe.

PharmaCannis was ranked the #1 project by the NYS Department of Health in the state’s recent competition to award five medical marijuana manufacturing licenses. Almost immediately after the winners were announced in August, PharmaCannis began construction of their new facility at the Hudson Valley Crossing tech park in the Town of Hamptonburgh. PharmaCannis, who is already producing medical marijuana as a licensee in Illinois, will create 80 high-paying jobs in Orange County in research & development, cultivation and distribution.

This “shovel ready” project will be built on a 122 acre parcel in the Town of Wawayanda. When fully operational, the facility will provide 650 MegaWatts of new electric generation capacity and create over 500 construction and operations jobs in Orange County. The CPV Valley project is designed to sustain the outstanding quality of life enjoyed in the lower Hudson Valley, as combined-cycle natural gas generating facilities are some of the cleanest forms of fuel-based electricity generation in the world.