Montreign enhancement also approved
The Sullivan County Industrial Development Agency approved more than $100,000 in sales-tax exemptions associated with the purchase of construction equipment for the Veria wellness center project on Friday.
It also approved the $150 million dollar enhancement to the Montreign Resort Casino at Adelaar project during the meeting.
The Z Living/Veria Nature Cure & Ayurvedic Well Center will be able to begin construction once the Town of Thompson Planning Board gives it full site plan approval. However, the project needs approval from the state Department of Health for its water system, according to project manager Abhay Jain.
Once the project receives full approval from the board, Thompson Supervisor Bill Rieber says it will give Veria a building permit so it can begin construction.
Jain thanked the IDA following the approval.
“You guys are really helping us in this whole process,” Jain said. “There will be many projects after this.”
The $90 million project - located on the former Kutsher’s property - will be built on the West Shore of Bailey’s Lake, which is adjacent to Anawana Lake. Rieber says it will represent a total investment of $500 million.
The project is also a designated EB-5 regional center under the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, an arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The EB-5 program puts foreign investors on a path to receiving a green card after investing at least $500,000 into a project that could create a minimum of 10 new jobs and economic growth in the area.
Jain says he is unsure how much foreign investment it will receive for the project through the USCIS’ program.
The 260,000-square-foot wellness center will feature 131 hotel suite-styled hotel rooms. It will also have activities such as golf, hydrotherapy, and Eastern and Western medical treatments.
The IDA also approved the Montreign Resort Casino’s enhanced project. That means the assessed value of the $1 billion casino project will go from approximately $50 million to $65 million, according to IDA attorney Walter Garigliano.
The casino is expected to open in 2017, or two years from receiving its casino license, which is expected to come in the next few months.