Governor Hochul Announces Request for Proposals for the Purchase and Redevelopment of Downstate Correctional Facility

 

RFP Places Strong Emphasis on Housing, With a Range of Unit Sizes and Affordability Levels

Also Announces Progress Toward Redeveloping Livingston Correctional Facility as Livingston County Industrial Development Agency Secures Necessary Approvals for Land Transfer

Aligns With Governor’s Ongoing Effort to Identify State-Owned Sites for Potential Residential Uses

 Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that Empire State Development, in partnership with the Office of General Services and Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, has issued a Request for Proposals for the former Downstate Correctional Facility located in Fishkill, Dutchess County. This Request for Proposals advances recommendations made by the Prison Redevelopment Commission and builds on first-in-the-nation strategic efforts to reimagine former prison sites from an economic development focus as prison populations shrink and prisons close. The Request for Proposals is also a part of the Governor’s ongoing effort to identify state-owned sites for potential residential uses to increase the State’s housing supply in light of the housing crisis.

“The formation of the Prison Redevelopment Commission, announced nearly one year ago, was the first comprehensive analysis in the United States for the reuse and redevelopment of New York’s closed facilities,” Governor Hochul said. “The Commission compiled thoughtful, realistic information and recommendations that considered input from both experts and community stakeholders, and we are hitting the ground running and taking major steps to move these recommendations forward in ways that will give impacted communities a voice on the future of these closed sites.”

Governor Hochul also announced that Empire State Development has secured necessary approvals for the transfer of Livingston Correctional Facility to the Livingston County Industrial Development Agency, advancing another key recommendation from the Prison Redevelopment Commission’s 2022 Unlocking Opportunity report.

Request for Proposals to Redevelop Downstate Correctional Facility

The primary development objective for the redevelopment of the Downstate Correctional Facility is to maximize benefits to the surrounding community and region while prioritizing housing. Following the Governor’s directive and in accordance with recommendations from the Unlocking Opportunity report, the Request for Proposals (RFP) places a strong emphasis on housing in a mix of unit sizes and affordability ranges and makes up to $8 million in incentives available to eligible respondents to address remediation and demolition costs. View RFP here.

The former maximum-security site covers approximately 80 acres of land, 50 of which are within the perimeter security and 30 of which are outside. There are 34 buildings on the property, totaling 558,000 square feet. The site is located in the Town of Fishkill and is adjacent to the City of Beacon. It is approximately 70 miles north of New York City and approximately 95 miles south of Albany.

Fishkill, positioned along the Hudson River, has a rich history as a strategic north-south passageway. Today, the town is primarily composed of residential neighborhoods but has several commercial hubs. The town has also seen a surge in technology and advanced manufacturing companies in recent years. GlobalFoundries, a multinational semiconductor manufacturing and design company, opened a facility in a former IBM office in East Fishkill in 2015. In addition, Dutchess Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 4,500 and is home to the Hudson Valley Renegades minor league baseball team, is in West Fishkill, just a mile southwest of the site.

The site is also proximate to several higher education institutions, including SUNY Orange, SUNY New Paltz, SUNY Ulster, Vassar College, Dutchess Community College, the Culinary Institute of America, and United States Military Academy (West Point).

Proposals must be received by ESD via DropBox by August 23, 2023, at 2 p.m. Potential Respondents may also attend a site tour that is anticipated to be scheduled on or around August 2, 2023. Please RSVP to DownstateCFacilityRFP23@esd.ny.gov by July 31, 2023, at 5 p.m.

Livingston Correctional Facility

Additionally, the ESD Board of Directors and the Public Authorities Control Board have authorized ESD to advance the process to transfer the shuttered Livingston Correctional Facility to the Livingston County Industrial Development Authority. Once this transfer is complete, Livingston County would begin developing the site with job creating economic activity in the southern end of Livingston County, bringing a site previously costing the state money back on the local tax rolls. This would be the first completed transfer of a site studied by the Prison Redevelopment Commission for economic development purposes.

Prison Redevelopment Commission

In May 2022, Governor Hochul convened the Prison Redevelopment Commission, comprised of leading experts in the community and economic development, real estate, criminal justice reform, and government sectors, to address vacant and blighted prison facilities and develop a set of recommendations for creative uses. The Commission issued its findings, including 13 recommendations to facilitate the redevelopment of closed prisons, in the Unlocking Opportunity report in December.

ESD, in partnership with DOCCS and OGS, is working to advance recommendations from the report. Since the report was issued, razor wire has been removed on time and under budget from the Mt. McGregor, Willard and Ogdensburg facilities. The removal of this wire will make the sites more conducive to redevelopment and cut a considerable expense out of future redevelopment costs.

Furthermore, at the recommendation of the Prison Redevelopment Commission, four sites have been “kept warm.” These sites include Willard, Moriah, Ogdensburg, and Livingston. This practice preserves the on-site buildings and infrastructure between the time of closure and redevelopment, reducing the costs associated with future renovation or demolition of deteriorating buildings.