PURCHASE BUILDING SELLS FOR $24M
VIRTUAL DOCTOR VISITS
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AUGUST 20, 2018 | VOL. 54, No. 34
YOUR ONLY SOURCE FOR REGIONAL BUSINESS NEWS, COVERING THE HUDSON VALLEY
westfaironline.com
Investors in defunct casino project sue Louis Cappelli for $3M BY BILL HELTZEL bheltzel@westfairinc.com
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Indira Rajan turned the long-vacant home into a place for parties and gatherings. Photo by Aleesia Forni.
From disaster to riverside venue BY ALEESIA FORNI aforni@westfairinc.com
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t seems like it could be something straight out of a fairytale. Driving up to the entrance, gates open before you and a brick-lined, curved driveway leads you down to an enormous Mediterranean-style fountain that sits in front a sprawling estate. Head to the back of the property and you’ll find panoramic views of the Hudson River, a rushing waterfall and a trio of peacocks enjoying their home. There’s even a white carriage on the back lawn, evoking memories of Cinderella’s getaway vehicle.
But Rivermere on the Hudson, the name of the 11,000-square-foot estate that is less than a mile from downtown Croton-on-Hudson, is not a make-believe castle taken from the pages of your favorite childhood story. In fact, the process of renovating and revamping the 10-acre site at 180 N. Riverside Ave. was far from a fantasy for its owner, Indira Rajan. “It was a complete disaster,” she said of the property when she first stepped inside. “But I walked in, and what I saw made me feel that this was something I’d like to work on as a project.” When she first entered the home, the property had sat vacant for years, Rajan said, and
had decayed and fallen into disrepair during that time. Still, Rajan said she could see the home’s potential. “It was a challenge for us, because we didn’t want to change the way it was,” she said. “We felt it was not right to change anything dramatically, but we just wanted to bring it back to life and make it look as best as it can.”
Rajan and her husband spent a year renting the estate before ultimately buying it in March. During that time, they worked to renovate the sizable property. “It was a big, big task,” she said. “It was fun looking back but at it, but at that time, not so much.” Today, the mansion is
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esort Group Investors LLC is suing White Plains developer Louis R. Cappelli for $3 million, for refusing to buy back their interests in a casino project. The group sued Cappelli and eight companies he controls on Aug. 3 in Westchester Supreme Court. Resort Group Investors contends that Cappelli persuaded them in 1999 to sell their interests in 1,500 acres of land in Sullivan County. He promised them an interest in a casino project, according to the lawsuit, and the right to redeem that interest for $3 million when the casino got all state and federal gaming approvals. The investors say they have demanded the $3 million buyback, but Cappelli has refused to redeem their interests. Cappelli did not respond to a request for his side of the story. The casino has its genesis in the Concord Resort Hotel, a part of the Borscht Belt resorts that catered to Jewish families for decades until they fell out of favor. The Concord filed for bankruptcy and closed in 1998. Concord Associates LP, led by hotel developer Joseph M. Murphy, with Cappelli as a partner, bought the hotel for $10.25 million in a bankruptcy auction in 1999.
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» LOUIS CAPPELLI
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