After interminable delays, state must make most of Wassaic land sale: Editorial

The state’s apparent commitment to selling off the remaining portion of the former Wassaic Development Center in eastern Dutchess County should have happened decades ago. After such inexcusable delays, state officials owe it to the local community to get this right, to see something positive emerge at such a critically important site.

In fact, in the mid-1990s, the state officials in charge of the center in the Town of Amenia led the discussion about future uses, including turning it into a retirement and/or health center or transforming the buildings into a village-like outlet mall. But those plans never materialized. And the state’s downsizing of the facility has taken an interminably and indefensibly long time — at great taxpayer expense. At one point, the state sold off part of the sprawling property, but only now is it seeking proposals for the purchase and redevelopment of about another 320 acres. The property includes more than a dozen buildings, some in horrible condition, but the location is prime for redevelopment: The land is right off Route 22 and is near the end of Metro-North’s Harlem Valley commuter railroad line.

That makes it perfectly suitable for what planners like to call “transit-oriented development” — that is, creating a walkable community including residences and businesses near a train or bus station. The Wassaic campus is particularly conducive to that since it has its own electrical substation and water and sewage plants as well. That’s because, at one time, thousands of people with developmental disabilities lived and were treated in those buildings.

Over the decades, patients were increasingly placed in less restrictive settings, including group homes, and the state closed the residential portion of the campus in 2014. Yet, since that time, the state has managed to rack up millions of dollars in operational costs by keeping some of the buildings open for administrative staff with the state Office for People with Developmental Disabilities. That has made absolutely no sense from a fiscal point a view. And it’s kept in limbo any possible plans for redevelopment.

Last year, the state’s primary economic development arm, Empire State Development, announced it was seeking ideas from potential developers for the Wassaic campus. The official “request for proposals” was announced this week, and they are due in late September.

For decades, Dutchess County residents have seen the worst of what happens when the state closes big facilities and has little regard for what happens next — and no coherent strategy for redevelopment. But these centers provide unique opportunities for smart growth, to see progress without ripping up more rural farmland or open space in the county. Whatever emerges at this site must be something that the local community supports. For that to occur, the state will have to be far more transparent during the redevelopment process than it has been for the decades it has taken to part with the land.

What’s next

Responses are due by 2 p.m. Sept. 28. An optional site visit is scheduled for July 30. Respondents are not required to attend; however, if they wish to participate, they must RSVP to mailto:wassaicRFP@esd.ny.gov.  To find out more, go to

https://esd.ny.gov/doing-business-ny/requests-proposals/wassaic-developmental-center

Opinion Engagement Editor John Penney wrote this editorial on behalf of The Poughkeepsie Journal Editorial Board. Email him at jpenney@gannett.com; follow him on Twitter at @johnpenneynews