The Business Journals - Week of Nov. 30, 2020

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TR US TE D J O U R NALI S M AT YO U R FI N G E RTI P S

NOVEMBER 30, 2020 VOL. 56, No. 48

westfaironline.com

EXCLUSIVE

Martin Berger on the Great Lawn in front of the High Victorian Gothic building known as the Kirkbride. Photo by Bob Rozycki.

AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE HUDSON HERITAGE PROJECT BY BOB ROZYCKI bobr@westfairinc.com

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cold wind was whipping up the hill from the Hudson River as Martin Berger emerged from his SUV. No suit for the development manager of EFG/Saber Heritage SC of Armonk, just work boots, jeans, open-col-

lar shirt and a very warm jacket. Berger took time out from his busy schedule to afford the Business Journal a personal tour of the massive $300 million-plus development that Saber Real Estate North LLC and EnviroFinance Group LLC are in the midst of creating on the grounds of the

former Hudson River State Hospital in the town of Poughkeepsie. Berger and company are turning the neglected 156-acre property — long a scavenger’s delight and a veritable eyesore visible for miles — into an intergenerational live-work-play community called Hudson » HUDSON HERITAGE

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Economic chill Winter and Covid freeze restaurants’ profits BY KEVIN ZIMMERMAN kzimmerman@westfairinc.com

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s temperatures cool down, so will business at restaurants, given the state’s mandates for indoor dining. That was the unfortunate recurring theme at a virtual roundtable hosted by U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy

Frank J. Gaudio

Evan R. Corsello

203.302.4375

203.302.4003

President & CEO

Chief Lending Officer

CALL US TODAY

EXPERT LENDERS  COMMERCIAL & RESIDENTIAL Port Chester – 914.908.5444 500 Westchester Avenue

NMLS # 510513

Cos Cob – 203.629.8400 444 E. Putnam Avenue

Stamford – 203.413.6101 900 Summer Street

on Nov. 20, at which Dan Meiser of Mystic-based 85th Day Food Community explained the dilemma many restaurateurs are facing. “Does it make sense to keep bleeding out?” he asked. “Or do we close now, hunker down and try to conserve cash in order to reopen in the spring? There’s no good option right now.” As Covid-19 made its impact felt in the spring, Gov. Ned Lamont ordered all eating establishments to close their indoor operations, leaving them to rely instead on takeout and delivery services. In May, the state allowed restau-

rants to create outdoor dining areas; the following month, they could operate indoors at 50% capacity, under a litany of conditions. In October, that capacity was increased to 75%, but was quickly scaled back to 50% when the second Covid wave hit the state. Lamont has said he would like to maintain the 50% level through at least the winter months, but public reticence about eating indoors — and, of course, whether the number of coronavirus cases continues to spike upward — may ultimately not make much of a difference. » ECONOMIC CHILL

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