Warwick developer transfers $20 million in buildings to Occupations, Inc.
WARWICK — Warwick developer Jonah Mandelbaum and his wife, Donna Applegate, recently announced that they will transfer over $20 million in Town of Wallkill building projects to Occupations, Inc., for a token payment of three dollars.
It will be the largest gift in the 50-year history of Occupations, Inc., the not-for-profit organization provides a variety of services to children, families, and adults including those with significant disabilities, in the Hudson Valley Community. Services include mobile mental health provided directly in people’s homes, individual and group counseling, habilitation, and case management services.
Last year, Occupations, Inc. partnered with Mandelbaum’s development Company, Warwick Properties, Inc., to construct 78 affordable apartments on a five-acre property in the Town of Wallkill.
Affordable and accessible
The project, Sunrise Gardens, which will be completed this spring, designated half of the apartments for people with special needs. Those units were designed, for example, with low counters, wide doors and other features for people with disabilities, including residents who use wheelchairs.
The project, toward which New York State provided approximately $2.2 million in funding and tax credits, is valued at over $10 million. Warwick Properties, Inc. will manage the complex for three years and then transfer the development to Occupations, Inc. for one dollar.
Oakridge Apartments, a new Mandelbaum development similar in size, purpose, location and value to Sunrise Gardens, is currently under construction and will also be turned over to Occupations, Inc.. in three years after completion for two dollars.
“My taxes went up this year so I have to charge double,” quipped Mandelbaum. “We will manage both projects for three years so that the transition of ownership and management to Occupations, Inc., will go smoothly.”
State assistance as well
New York State provided approximately $2.4 million in funding and tax credits for the most recent development.
Sunrise Gardens and Oakridge Apartments are similar in design to Liberty Green in Warwick, an affordable housing complex also developed and managed by Mandelbaum.
Both Wallkill developments will become assets for Occupations, Inc., and serve as a positive revenue source for the organization.
“We’re honored and thrilled beyond words by this donation, which Jonah and Donna have made to our organization,” said James B. DeStefano, president of Occupations, Inc. “It is an honor and a privilege to know these two outstanding members of our community, who have given so much to support Occupations, Inc.”
- Roger Gavan