Pinegrove Ranch resort closes
Pinegrove Ranch and Family Resort has shut down, leaving its fate in the hands of the real estate market.
A person answering a knock at the entrance acknowledged the resort had closed permanently on Sept. 22 but declined to discuss the business financial issues or the response of employees who are now out of jobs.
The facility had been owned and operated by David O’Halloran until his death May 25 boating during a vacation in the Bahamas. His wife Donna O’Halloran did not return request for comment.
Rochester town Supervisor Carl Chipman said the closing would be challenging for the town and he would like to see it remain a commercial operation.
“I do know the hotel’s been up for sale and there’s a couple of parties that have been negotiating and bidding,” he said.
“They are the second largest employer in the town and there’s 100 jobs that go down with this business, too,” Chipman said. “So, I’m hoping whoever gets it is going to keep it as a resort and keep local people working there.”
Chipman said he would like to see the property sold to a business that can keep up on the property taxes. Ulster County Real Property Tax Agency officials said the property owes $88,888 for combined 2016 town and county property taxes and the 2015-16 Rondout Valley School District bill for the primary 117.2 acres along Cherrytown Road.
The Pinegrove web site reports having a total of 600 acres for its
“all year ‘round ... all-inclusive family resort” consisting of 126 guest rooms.
Among interest buyers is Congreation Machneh Rav Tov, which owns a nearby religious retreat. The group is representative by attorney Jeff Kaplan, who on Sunday said negotiations during the past month have put the asking price for the Pinegrove resort at $2.5 million but he doesn’t expect the sales figure will be close to that.
“I’d say if that was really reality it would be sold already,” he said. “The fact that it’s not sold means that they may be a little high or somebody thinks they’re going to get a real bargain.”