The Amsterdam Industrial Development Agency voted unanimously yesterday to provide a Payment in Lieu of Taxes agreement with 10 Market Street, LLC, a subsidiary of The Eliot Group, which recently purchased the former hotel building in downtown Amsterdam. The firm has already begun rehabilitating the building and hopes to open an assisted living facility before the end of this year. Later that evening, the city planning board approved the site plan and special use permit for the project.
At the AIDA meeting, Eric Newhouse of 10 Market Street, LLC, said the new facility will be called “The Sentinel at Amsterdam.”
“It’s going to be a beautiful state of the art facility,” said Newhouse. “The project has already begun and we are well on our way to making that a reality. We’re looking forward to being a vital part of the community and I think it’s going to be a great part of the local economy for downtown, for the city…we’re excited about it.”
“We appreciate you investing in Amsterdam, most importantly.” said Michael Lacoppola, board member.
Pat Baia, the board chair, asked about the firm’s prior experience with assisted living facility projects. Newhouse said that although he has not recently completed a “ground up development” project, Amsterdam would be the eighth assisted living facility that the firm operates in New York State.
“We’re here to do everything we can to make this a reality,” said Baia.
Newhouse said since purchasing the building in December 2015, he has felt welcomed.
“From the very get-go, it’s been very well received by everyone that we’ve worked with,” said Newhouse.
After the meeting, Newhouse described the difference between an assisted living facility and a nursing home.
“Assisted living is not restrictive as a nursing home, people are free to come and go as they wish,” said Newhouse. “Some [residents] are more interested in going out, and some residents prefer to stay in. But…they tend to go out and patronize the local establishments.”
The PILOT agreement specifies the assessed value of the property at $750,000. Under the agreement, the owners will pay only 10% of what would normally be charged on the property next year. Each year after, the amount will go up by an additional 10% until the full amount of taxes is being paid yearly at the end of the 10 year term.
