Developer surveys fire damage at former Hudson River Psych Center, seeks tax relief to keep renovation project alive
Before the fires, Ed Elanjian and his partners asked for a property tax break and permission to build more homes than originally planned to help cover asbestos removal, increasing construction costs and any demolition.
The developer of the old Hudson River Psychiatric Center property in the Town of Poughkeepsie returned Tuesday to the historic campus to survey the damage from two fires that gutted several buildings.
Ed Elanjian, CEO of Enviro Finance Group, said there is much to do to rebound from the fires, beginning with some security improvements at the campus off Route 9.
Since Enviro Finance Group bought the campus in 2013, trespassers have continued to strip and damage the buildings.
Elanjian is trying to bring that ongoing problem that predates his purchase of the land under control.
When asked whether he has regrets or disappointment in how the property was secured over the last 13 years, Elanjian said he was "obviously disappointed."
He suspects trespassers may have contributed to the two fires earlier this month, though the causes are still under investigation.
He met with Poughkeepsie police on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of increased enforcement and prosecution to deter trespassers.
Construction crews were clearing brush Tuesday for new fences to protect key buildings Elanjian still hopes to develop from trespassers and to make it more difficult for trespassers to hide from security guards.
Elanjian had hoped some progress on a 750-unit mixed-income housing project would bring in new residents and naturally solve the trespassing issue.
Some retail space was completed, but the construction of homes has not begun.
"We never expected that we'd be sitting here 13 years later and nothing but the shopping center's been built," Elanjian said.
Elanjian said the 20-plus state and local agencies involved in the project have not always agreed on the same goals. There have been holdups over permits, he said, environmental issues and differing views on how much housing to include in the project.
"Some of the things that some of those players want actually contradict what other players want," Elanjian said, "and I don't have the power to fix that."
Before the fires, Elanjian and his partners asked for a property tax break and permission to build more homes than originally planned to help cover asbestos removal, increasing construction costs and any demolition.
He also met Tuesday with the town's building inspectors to figure out the extent of the damage and whether some of the affected buildings might have to be torn down entirely.
"We have not had a chance to revisit that proposal and are focusing now about site security in the wake of the fire," Poughkeepsie Town Supervisor Rebecca Edwards said of Elanjian's requests in an email to News 12. "A great deal of commercial development has taken place in the Hudson Heritage area and the Town welcomes further conversation about residential development."
