The City of Newburgh officially broke ground on Friday, November 4 for the East End Lofts, a new 66 unit mixed-income housing development with business space located along South Colden Street. The East End Lofts, under the direction of the Kearney Realty and Development Group, Inc. is a $20 million plus project that anticipates its completion by the Summer of 2025.

Kearney Realty & Development Group, Inc., founded in 1996, is a specialized real estate development, construction and property management firm located in Somers, New York. The company specializes in innovative, affordable, mixed-income and downtown revitalization developments.

“I’m standing here and I’m thinking about how long it’s gonna take me to finish because I want to move people in, I want people to experience this incredible view, “ said Ken Kearney, President of Kearney Realty and Development Group. “And I do believe that this project is going to have the same impact we’ve had in other cities we’ve worked in, in the Hudson Valley. So we can’t wait.”

For Kearney, his immediate history with the city was building work that he did back in the 90’s on the corner of Liberty and Washington Street where Caffè Macchiato and Liberty Street Bistro once called their home. Today, Betty’s Snack Bar operates out of the current space. He also worked on property located on North Street. Similar successes of the Kearney Group include development projects in Beacon, the Lofts on Main in Peekskill and the Queen City Lofts in Poughkeepsie.

Under a clear brisk sky on Friday afternoon, Mayor Torrance Harvey called the guests and gathered members to order before sharing remarks of thanks to the Kearney Group for the new project.

“Thank you to Ken and Sean Kearney, the Kearney Group. This is a Kearney Group project,” said Harvey. “We are currently in a housing crisis and the only way that we’re going to fight our way through this housing crisis is if we build back better. We have to build the City of Newburgh back better than ever, cause we are tougher than leather.”

Harvey also recognized the Mayor’s Strategic Economic and Development Advisory Committee (SEDAC) Chair Kathy Lawrence and member Dennis Grant in attendance. “We’re very excited to see the project break ground. We worked hard with the Kearney Group and asked hard questions. They were responsive, they were respectful. They dug deep with us,” Lawrence said. “We were very impressed with their track record of success in bringing truly mixed income housing projects to various cities in our region, and so we look forward to seeing the immediate and long-term impacts of this great development for the City of Newburgh and its residents.”

In his remarks, Kearney equally expressed gratitude to SEDAC for working with the Kearney Group, asking those hard questions and ensuring a smooth process for request for proposals. The project itself first came about in 2019, and now four years later, it is nearing its completion.

In the city, SEDAC is a volunteer, community-led, non-chartered advisory board of residents, business owners, community leaders and stakeholders tasked with analyzing, reviewing and advising the City Council on economic development opportunities that are effective, inclusive and equitable. The group is committed to prioritizing strategies, projects and programs that encourage economic and community development throughout the City of Newburgh.
Additionally, the Kearney Group is making its way through the approval process on another project in the city known as The Green. The Green, another mixed-income/mixed-use project, would see 108 units being built on properties reported previously at 140 and 146 Montgomery Street and 137 Smith Street. The land that the project is proposed to be built on was part of the Urban Renewal process in the city. This project was also subject to a SEDAC review. Eventually, a site development agreement was later passed by the city council in October of 2022.

“This project is the best example of what a public/private partnership should be, and together, we’re fulfilling an important need here in the City of Newburgh,” said Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson. “One thing about the Kearney Group’s projects is that as you go around, you see them in different areas, you do not know what the income levels are. They’re all quality, they all look good from the outside.”

“You’re [the crowd] standing on a freshly paved street as new infrastructure is going through this section of the city,” said City Planner Alexandra Church. “It’s great to finally see the infrastructure be repaired, and to then finally see the development come through so we hope this is the first of many that march north on the hillside.”