Indianapolis-based Scannell Properties plans to build a building called the Fishkill Commerce Center on a 62.5-acre site at 387 U.S. Route 9 in Fishkill. The property has been used as the Fishkill Golf Course and Driving Range since 1989.
The proposed development would consist of a 36,000 square foot warehouse and distribution center that would have 70 loading docks, 81 semi-truck parking spaces and 221 parking spaces for employee vehicles. The existing golf course includes a clubhouse with restaurant and additional support structures that would be demolished.
According to the developer, access to the new facility would be via the existing access road to US 9. The site is located within the planned industrial area of the city of Fishkill.
Founded in 1990, Scannell Properties is a privately held real estate development and investment firm focused on custom and speculative projects in the United States, Canada and Europe. In the United States, the company has completed 305 projects for specific clients and built 198 projects on speculation. Its real estate developments include manufacturing facilities, trucking terminals, distribution warehouses, data centers, cold storage facilities and e-commerce fulfillment centers. It has developed more than 375,000 square feet of real estate in upstate New York. Scannell’s clients include FedEx, Walmart, Home Depot, Amazon and General Electric.
Scannell says the proposed Fishkill project would cost about $63 million and create 200 to 250 jobs. The company hopes to start construction in the second quarter of next year and have the facility operational in the first quarter of 2026.
Attorney Jennifer Gray of the White Plains-based law firm Keane & Beane, who is representing Scannell before the town of Fishkill, said the developer is seeking site plan approval as well as a freshwater wetlands permit, a floodplain development permit and a reduction in parking requirements. Gray said that in her appearance before the town, when she represented a warehouse project for the adjacent property that formerly housed Dutchess Mall, she requested a reduction in required off-street parking and that the demand for off-street parking for the Fishkill Commerce Center project would be similarly lower.
Gray said the project is a Type I action under the state Environmental Quality Review Act because the disturbance area for Scannell’s project exceeds 10 acres and the gross floor area exceeds 100,000 square feet. She noted that a full environmental assessment form was prepared, as well as an environmental assessment report that includes various studies, such as stormwater and traffic impacts.
“We believe this is a good location for this particular project,” Gray said. “It complies with the zoning code. It’s kind of tucked behind the former Dutchess Mall site. Since it’s kind of the southern gateway to the city as you come up Route 9, we think the visual impact to that southern gateway will be minimal. We recognize that there’s a lot of wetlands on the property, but the project was carefully planned to avoid those wetlands and their buffer zones.”
Gray noted that the development would increase the city’s tax revenue and create jobs.
