Change is coming to Poughkeepsie in the form of the $250 million Hudson Heritage project which will change the complexion of the Route 9 corridor across from Marist College.

According to the Final Environmental Impact Statement, a total of 750 new residential units will be constructed along with 350,000 square feet of retail space. The former Main Administration building will be repurposed and 3.7 miles of pathways and trails will wind throughout the site. More than 50 acres on the site will be publicly accessible open space.

This massive new project is expected to create jobs and expand the local tax base. In recent years the old Hudson River Psychiatric Center had become a magnet for trouble with frequent arson attempts and drug use. The project is expected to take eight to ten years to complete and the centers past will be a distant memory by then.

Most have already forgotten the Center's status as one of the premier mental health facilities in the state. Initially built in the late 1800s it was slowly decommissioned around the turn of the century.

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