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Conference center considered for Liberty

Matt Shortall - Co-Editor
Posted 7/19/19

LIBERTY — Long before the old buildings at the former Grossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel in Liberty were demolished last summer, there was speculation as to what, if anything, would take their …

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Conference center considered for Liberty

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LIBERTY — Long before the old buildings at the former Grossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel in Liberty were demolished last summer, there was speculation as to what, if anything, would take their place.

Sullivan County Legislature Chairman Luis Alvarez appeared before the Liberty Town Board on Monday night to announce that the county, along with the Partnership for Economic Development and the Sullivan Catskills Visitors Association, is pursuing a conference or convention center near that location.

“In order to keep this project moving, we're going to need the support of the town board. It has to be a project between the town and the county working together,” Alvarez said. “Let's go for it!”

According to Alvarez, the legislature was approached by Muss Development LLC about revitalizing the property. Muss owns nearly 500 acres of land surrounding the original hotel and resort. On their website, Muss says the site already has access to water and sewer and is ready for immediate development. “Two nearby airports connect the Catskills to local, national and international markets. The site is also in close proximity to fishing, skiing, antiquing, and the internationally known Bethel Wood Performing Arts Center and the Woodbury Common Premium Outlet Center,” their website reads.

There's already plans to reopen the famous Grossinger's golf course, which along with the site of the original hotel is owned by the Cappelli Organization.

The town board unanimously passed a resolution of support on Monday for a conference center in Liberty. “It cannot be overstated what a plus it would be for our community to have a first-class conference center situated at the former Grossinger's property,” said Town of Liberty Supervisor Brian Rourke. “The site is one of our greatest assets and it is essential to attract some positive development there in order for Liberty to continue its rebound. The town board completely supports the concept and is eager to participate in the process to ensure our residents benefit should this project get traction in Albany.”

County officials met on Tuesday to discuss the project. Sullivan County Communications Director Dan Hust stressed that they're still in the preliminary stages and the legislature has yet to take any formal action.

“The legislature supports economic development that brings investment and jobs to Sullivan County. Such efforts - like the conference center being contemplated in Liberty - should begin with our economic development partners, starting with the Partnership for Economic Development, in collaboration with others like the Industrial Development Agency and Sullivan Catskills Visitors Association, all of which have the tools and resources to guide developers to a successful realization of their projects,” Hust said in a statement yesterday.

“I look at it right now as learning how to walk,” Alvarez told the Liberty Town Board. “I want by the end of the year for this project to be walking on its own.”

Sullivan County Partnership for Economic Development President and CEO Marc Baez said, “There's a history of bringing conventions to Sullivan County. Corporate retreats and corporate conventions are still going on and they move those around the country. Now that we have some of the other amenities here -- the waterpark and casino, growing hospitality and other assets throughout the county -- it's an ideal situation for us to try and do this.”

Baez went on to tell the town board that this type of project would require a partnership between public and private investors, hopefully with assistance from the state.

“In the end, we have to do everything we possibly can to make something happen on that hill,” Baez said. “It's too great of an asset.”

Past attempts

According to Sullivan County Historian John Conway, there have been at least two attempts in recent history when the county tried, and failed, to secure a convention center.

Fifty years ago this July, ground broke on a convention center in Monticello. This was back when Sullivan County was governed by the board of supervisors instead of a legislature. Even after ground broke, there was still dissent among the board which caused the project to be delayed. Bids for contracts didn't go out until nearly a year later in June, 1970.

Although $2.5 million in federal funds had been offered to the county for the convention center, construction costs were 90 percent over the architect's original estimate by the time the bids came back.

“What that wrangling among the board members did was delay the project to the point when prices were escalating and the economy was changing as we got into the 1970s,” Conway said. “If they went out to bid in ‘68 or ‘69 they might have avoided that.”

Sullivan County had taken another swing at a convention center about 10 years earlier in 1958. Architectural plans were drawn up for a geodesic dome to be located in Harris on the property now owned by The Center for Discovery, Conway said. Lobbying by the hotels at the time -- who feared a separate facility outside their properties could pose competition -- effectively killed the project.

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