by Anna Barton, Southern Dutchess News
On Sept. 21, representatives from the Town of Hyde Park, Dutchess County and New York State dug their shovels into the fresh dirt of what will one day be a worldclass tourist destination for Dutchess County.
Ground broke under cloudy skies for Phase 1 of the construction of Bellefield at Historic Hyde Park, a world-class hospitality, culinary and sustainable agrihood attraction. The 340-acres of Bellefield at Historic Hyde Park will be positioned at the gateway of Hyde Park, on Route 9 directly across from The Culinary Institute of America.
T-Rex Capital Group LLC, led by Chief Executive Officer Tom Mulroy, will be the real estate equity firm for the project, working with Bellefield Development Partners.
“This activates the site,” Mulroy said of the groundbreaking. T-Rex has been heavily involved in the project for the last seven years, Mulroy said, although different conception plans have been in place for almost 25 years.
Upon completion, the eco-friendly community will be home to two hotels, culinary shops, farm-to-table restaurants, a special event barn and an educational center. Bellefield will be a multi-faceted destination, bringing together interests in culinary, tourism and hospitality.
Bellefield will also feature 559 residences, ranging in architecture from brownstone-style homes to detached cottages to
artist-style lofts. While celebrating the history and ecology of the Hudson Valley, the residences will be constructed with the newest eco-friendly materials and will utilize geothermal and solar energy.
However, Bellefield’s creators understand that one of the Hudson Valley’s greatest strengths lies in its preservation of
beautiful landscapes and agriculture. With this knowledge, at the heart of the project will be a working farm, with 48 acres strictly devoted to agriculture and 58 percent of the site’s acres remaining wooded and undeveloped.
Phase 1 of the construction, a $60 million investment in the property, will include heavy infrastructure work and the addition of the first hotel. The Inn at Bellefield will be developed in partnership with Shaner Hotel Group, and will be the first of two upscale all-suites hotels on the property.
Mulroy plans for the heavy infrastructure work, including roads, electric, sewer and water treatments, to be finished by
January or February of 2019.
Lance Shaner, CEO of Shaner Hotel Group, was present for the event and excited to assist in the construction of what he foresees as “one of the most beautiful communities in New York State.”
Bellefield is expected to create more than 550 construction jobs and 370 fulltime, permanent jobs on site. Over the next
10 years, Phase 1 of the project is projected to generate more than $118 million for the state, county and town tax revenue.
Mulroy announced that “big things are happening here,” in the Valley, providing examples of Legoland Theme Park coming to Orange County and the newly announced Marist and Health Quest College. He called Hyde Park the “epicenter of the Hudson Valley” due to its large quantity of tourist attractions.
There’s a dire need for high-quality lodging in Dutchess County, which welcomes nearly 5 million visitors each
year. Bellefield’s location is ideal, said Mary Kay Vrba, president and CEO of Dutchess Tourism Inc., because of its proximity to attractions such as the Culinary, the FDR Presidential Library and Museum and The Walkway over the Hudson, just to name a few.
“There’s no place like Dutchess County where people come together to get things done,” Vrba said.
Aileen Rohr, supervisor of the Town of Hyde Park added, “With so many premier tourism destinations located in Hyde Park, the addition of attractive well-located lodging will allow visitors to stay where they play.”
