A long-vacant former gym near Stewart International Airport is slated for new commercial use after the New Windsor Town Board authorized its sale.
The Town Board approved the $750,000 sale of the former Stewart Gym at 323 Sue Kelly Avenue to Raymond Yannone and Douglas Posey on Sept. 2. The roughly 1.6-acre town-owned property includes the former gym building and an adjoining portion of Sue Kelly Avenue.
Supervisor Stephen Bedetti said the building has been vacant for years and has deteriorated to the point that the town did not believe in investing to restore it.
“It’s a mess inside it,” Bedetti said at the Sept. 2 meeting. “It’s not worth us putting a lot of money into it.”
The prospective buyers plan to gut and renovate the building for a catering-related business, Bedetti said earlier that week at the Town Board’s workshop meeting. He described plans for food preparation and kitchen space, as well as areas to handle linens, utensils and other equipment used for off-site catering.
There has also been discussion about potentially holding catering events in the former gym itself, although Bedetti said he did not know whether the buyers would ultimately pursue that use.
At the Sept. 2 meeting, Bedetti said selling the property would provide a financial benefit beyond the $750,000 purchase price.
“It’s going to be back on the tax rolls once it’s closed out,” Bedetti said, referring to the property becoming taxable again once it returns to private ownership.
The building has continued to deteriorate while sitting unused, with an April inspection by the town assessor finding roof leaks in several locations, additional exterior brick damage caused by water intrusion and water in the basement. The town has since cleaned out the building, according to Bedetti.
The gym property had been valued at $625,000 in 2024, according to the Assessor’s Office. The town later considered including the adjoining portion of Sue Kelly Avenue in the sale, which the office separately valued at $65,000. The approximately 0.47-acre roadway was valued under the assumption that existing utility easements such as water and sewer would remain in place.
With the roadway included, the combined appraised value of the properties was $690,000, putting the $750,000 purchase price $60,000 above that figure.
The buyers also considered additional development at the property. Bedetti said they have discussed constructing a separate small office building on the front portion of the site but emphasized that the sale does not provide approval for that project. Any additional development would have to go through the town’s normal approval process.
The sale comes as New Windsor is preparing for infrastructure investments around Stewart Airport. During the Aug. 31 workshop, Bedetti said he would like to direct the proceeds from the gym sale toward that work.
“I’m getting $750,000 for the gym but I’d like to put that back in the infrastructure at the airport because we’ve got to spend a lot of money in infrastructure out there and matter of fact, all in town,” said Bedetti.
The transaction has not yet closed with the Town Board’s resolution declaring the property surplus land no longer needed for a municipal purpose and authorized Bedetti to enter into the purchase and sale agreement. The sale remains subject to a waiting period for a permissive referendum, which gives residents an opportunity to petition for a public vote on the deal, as well as the execution of the deed and other required documents, before the sale can close.