Rock Hill Center Will Have Positive Impact

by: Bill Liblick

I just don’t get it.

We unquestionably, continually and collectively, say that Sullivan County needs clear-cut change. We say we want better housing and more commercial development.

Then when we finally attract a group of well-respected developers who present us with a grand scale residential community and strip mall, the outcome is nonsensical opposition.

Enough with the “Not in My Back Yard” type theory.

Enough with people organizing opposition to something which Sullivan County taxpayers have been hoping and praying would happen here for years. 

The prospect to change things around in Sullivan County is hitting us straight in our faces. If we fight these developers and the opportunities they are presenting us, we can forget about any hope there is left for Sullivan County.

Two spectacular new developments are planned for us, one at the famed Concord Resort and the other in Rock Hill.

The $1.5 billion Concord Plan, which is amazing and spectacular, will contain 3,000 homes, two hotels, a new clubhouse and retail outlets on 1,735 acres of land.

The proposed “Rock Hill Town Center,” will include 1,500 homes and 600,000 square feet of retail space on approximately 500 acres of land stretching from Rock Hill Drive down Glen Wild. The project, which will include 581 single-family houses, 524 townhouses and 384 multi-family units, is exactly what is needed in Sullivan County.

Unlike the Concord plan, the Rock Hill venture must obtain rezoning on over 100 acres of the property from rural residential to highway commercial before proceeding. That is where the opposition feels they can utilize their political muscle to halt or scale back the development, by stopping the rezoning.  If these people were smart, they would cease their nonsense and welcome the Rock Hill Town Center development with open arms.

The positive impact of this development will so outweigh anything that can even be perceived as being negative.

Finally – there are plans for another new development in Sullivan County, which will not be removed from our tax rolls!  And, what do we get in return?  Opposition, that’s what.

It would be great if other areas in Sullivan County had such interest from developers. Look at the old Grossinger’s Hotel, it just lays there dormant as an eyesore. I hope Westchester developer Louis Cappelli does something with that property as well, and not just concentrate on the former Concord Hotel project.

Grossinger’s would be perfect for perhaps an amusement or water park, if it is not utilized for new housing, or even a hotel/casino.

If new industry is to come here with diverse employment opportunities, we will also need attractive housing. The type of housing proposed in Rock Hill and at the Concord is desperately needed in Sullivan County.

We will probably require even more housing to coincide with the casinos.  Workers will need a place to live, so why not keep them right here in Sullivan County? 

As the economy recovers, secondary homebuyers will once again also become attractive to all Sullivan County has to offer.

The Rock Hill project is appealing for other reasons as well.

Orange County has become too expensive of a place to live. Rock Hill is close enough to tap that market by providing affordable housing. It is only 20 minutes from the train station in Middletown, making it feasible for people to live here while commuting to the New York City on a daily basis. 

The Rock Hill project will not just stop at housing, but it will also provide us with new commercial shopping. This is something that Sullivan County dreadfully needs. Wouldn’t it be nice if we finally see some big named stores opening here?

Those who oppose the development are fearful that Rock Hill will double in size. Their claim that it will destroy the beauty and character of the hamlet is nonsense, and only exhibits tunnel vision. 

It is time that we move on to rebuild Sullivan County, and support those who want to bring us such projects such as Rock Hill Town Center. Stop this nonsensical fight, and support the project.

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