MAMAKATING – Shalom Lamm and Black Creek Development, the Bloomingburg-based company involved in a number of large development projects in the ridge area, hope to build a major commercial development for the lands adjacent to Wurtsboro Airport. Lamm and his team presented the ambitious plans to the Mamakating Planning Board this past Tuesday. The project will include as many as four large commercial structures, one of which would encompass 1.2 million square feet of warehouse and office space.

"We're looking to attract a Fortune 100 company," said Lamm in an interview on Wednesday.

Lamm went on to say that the airport cannot survive as a commercial entity unless a new revenue stream is created. The idea behind this project would be to create what would be, in effect, a commercial homeowners' association, with the principles responsible for paying annual fees sufficient to keep the airport fiscally solvent.

"Right now the airport is losing money every year," he said.

Lamm went on to say that the strategy behind the project would be to bring in a single company to lease, or perhaps purchase, the facility. Lamm's company, as a first step, would prepare the "pad," the concrete footing on which the building would be built, with either Black Creek or the tenant constructing the building itself. He did say, however, that Black Creek is open to working with any prospective tenant when it comes to the particulars of exactly how the deal would be structured.

Whether Black Creek, or some as-of-yet unknown company, builds the warehouse, the building would conform to an architectural design that complements the other buildings on the airport site. The drawings revealed on Tuesday evening depicted a structure that looked very much like a large airplane hangar.

There can be no doubt that, given the current state of the commercial real estate market, some would question the wisdom of building such a large commercial facility. Lamm, however, says that the Wurtsboro site is unique when you compare it to other sites in the Northeast Corridor. There are only two of three sites capable of handling a million-plus-foot warehouse — and none of these sites have an airport in such close proximity. The location of the airport, Lamm says, make this particular site attractive to companies who might want to fly in executives and customers.

From an economic perspective, Lamm says that the facility would immediately create approximately 1,000 construction jobs, and that the completed facility could add as many as 2,700 permanent jobs. As many as 8,000 jobs could be created in the indirect marketplace, Lamm said.

He also went on to say that the project thus far has been funded entirely with cash, so there is no "interest time-bomb" that would put the project under the gun when it comes to completion.

"Because we don't have a debt clock, we're prepared to wait," Lamm said in regard to attracting the ideal tenant, adding that Black Creek could be willing to wait as long as "two or three years" for the right circumstances to crystallize.

While there has yet to be any word from community groups — the Basha Kill Area Association, in particular — there can be no doubt that there will be much public scrutiny of the project. The proximity of the site to what some refer to as the "Upper Basha Kill," as well as the impact the facility, the entrance of which would be situated on McDonald Road, would have on local traffic, are likely to be the points of contention as the project moves through the application process. It is also worth noting that the entrance to the Yukiguni Maitake mushroom-growing facility, if built, would also be situated on McDonald Road. Lamm said that the company is prepared to do what is necessary to improve infrastructure.

"We've already completed a major traffic study, which would call on us to improve sections of [Route] 209," Lamm said.

Lamm also said that Black Creek had spent close to $1 million studying the site, including all the reviews required under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), and that it would make all of these documents available to the public in the near future, likely within the next 90 days.

Wurtsboro Airport is considered by aviators to be a historic site, as it is the oldest still-operating glider airport in the United States. Lamm also has a personal affection for the airport as it is where he himself learned to fly.

Lamm is also not coy about the fact that he hopes to make money on the project. However, he did say that this project gives him an opportunity to save the airport, while at the same time making a good investment.

"It's a synergistic relationship between saving the airport and making a business out of it," he said.