Representatives of Walgreens, code name “Project Nucleus,” came to the Orange County Partnership recently seeking assistance navigating local government and incentives for a proposed micro fulfillment center in Orange County. Walgreens had a stringent timeline so it was imperative that the Partnership act quickly.
The Orange County Partnership took a full assessment of Walgreens’ needs and delved into every detail of the project from start to finish, says Kaitlynn Lancellotti, Director of Business Attraction and Expansion for the Orange County Partnership. She noted that Walgreens officials detailed their project plans in the Town of Newburgh that would have significant economic benefits for the town and the county.
The Partnership arranged for meetings to explore state and local economic development incentives. Bill Fioravanti, Executive Director of the Orange County Industrial Development Agency (IDA), was introduced to the nation’s number two pharmaceutical chain, and Fioravanti laid out the possible incentives available to Walgreens.
Following this introduction, the Partnership and IDA mobilized to assist Walgreens and keep the project moving forward. Walgreens went before the IDA and at its January 19th session, the Orange County IDA’s Fioravanti introduced the project and the representatives of Walgreens to the IDA Board. The representatives gave an overview of the project and detailed the profound benefits it would have on the county. IDA Chairman Michael Torelli and other board members reacted favorably to the project.
Torelli articulated that he was fond of the potential for students coming out Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Science to work at a facility like this and it would be a way to “keep our youth closer to home.”
Torelli later added that the Walgreens project “is exactly what the IDA is meant to do… what we’re here to do is to try to help and assist companies come to the area and specifically to Orange County.”
With their potential location in the Town of Newburgh, Walgreens would be investing approximately $24 million and creating about 200 new jobs with a salary range from $30,000 to $140,000.
As reported in the Middletown Times-Herald Record, the Walgreens project would be housed in a warehouse building currently under construction by New Jersey-based Matrix Development Group, which has commenced construction on two warehouse buildings totaling more than 1 million square feet on a site across from the Newburgh Mall. Walgreens will take occupancy of a portion of the smaller warehouse building, which will total approximately 215,000 square feet. The Middletown Times-Herald Record reports construction on the two buildings will be completed by the end of this year or early 2023.
While there is still work to do to get this project across the finish line, the Orange County Partnership’s Lancellotti said the cooperation between the Orange County Partnership and the Orange County IDA was critical.
“Economic development is similar to an engine; in order for it to operate properly all of the gears need to work together,” she noted.
There will be a public hearing scheduled in the Town of Newburgh on the Walgreens project soon.
