Ulster County’s big bet on turning the old IBM/TechCity campus back into a jobs powerhouse is running into a wall of unpaid bills. On Tuesday, County Comptroller March Gallagher released a sharply worded review saying iPark 87, the developer that took over the Town of Ulster site, is behind on nearly $9.5 million in mortgage payments and property taxes. The gap, the report warns, could derail the county’s long-running vision for the 250-acre campus, and county leaders are already moving to claw back pieces of the property where payments have not come through.
In an 18-page review titled "From IBM to iPark: Challenges, Obligations, and the Path Forward," Gallagher details how two single-purpose LLCs created by Connecticut-based National Resources owe about $6.56 million related to mortgages and another $2.93 million in delinquent property taxes. The report notes that iPark made one large East Campus payment of $1,176,600 but "has made no payments whatsoever on the West Campus mortgage," and says earlier lien releases and mortgage concessions have weakened the county’s leverage to recover value. Gallagher urges officials to "aggressively protect taxpayer interests" and to stay realistic about what the site is worth as they weigh enforcement and redevelopment options, according to a review from the Ulster County Comptroller.
UCEDA Moves To Reclaim Two West Parcels
The Ulster County Economic Development Alliance, which brokered the original sales, is already hitting the foreclosure button on part of the property. In February, the alliance voted to start foreclosure proceedings on two West Campus parcels after the developer failed to make required mortgage payments. UCEDA says the move covers the former Bank of America building at 101–899 Enterprise Drive and an adjacent vacant lot at 605–695 Boices Lane. Local reporting indicates that missed payments, fees and default interest on those parcels are closing in on $4 million, and the properties are also behind on roughly $628,000 in taxes owed to the county, the Town of Ulster and the Kingston City School District, as the board steps in to protect public investment. The Times Union has covered the board’s vote and the county’s public statements on the foreclosure move.
How The County Sold And Financed The Campus
Gallagher’s review also walks through how the deal was structured in the first place. UCEDA transferred the East Campus to National Resources in 2022 for $12 million, a package that included a $4.9 million UCEDA mortgage and a $7 million remediation credit. The West Campus followed in April 2023, transferred for roughly $6.8 million backed by about a $6.7 million UCEDA mortgage. The report notes that iPark has since filed two tax certiorari cases seeking to knock the site’s combined assessed value down from $31.48 million to $6.43 million, a shift that would significantly trim future property tax bills. Those challenges, together with lien releases and a $19 million private mortgage on the East Campus, further complicate the county’s ability to foreclose and make itself whole, according to the Ulster County Comptroller.
Tenants, Jobs And What’s Already Open
For all the financial drama, not every corner of the sprawling property is sitting idle. On the East Campus, the Ulster BOCES Career and Technical Center is up and running, and Archtop Fiber has also set up shop. County officials say they are pursuing a potential food-focused tenant and cold storage uses for the Powerhouse parcel. These early tenants hint at the site’s redevelopment potential but also highlight how much of the campus is still vacant or on hold. Spectrum News notes that these projects rank among the few clear wins so far amid the broader uncertainty around iPark 87.
Cleanup Work, Grants And Environmental Oversight
The property’s challenges are not just financial. Years of improper demolition work left asbestos-contaminated debris on the site, prompting Environmental Protection Agency involvement and a series of cleanup agreements. EPA records show the TechCity and iPark 87 campus remains under federal oversight, and state funding has helped support remediation. For additional background on the county’s recent enforcement steps and the foreclosure notice involving the West Campus parcels, see Ulster County.
Legal And Fiscal Implications
Even if mortgage foreclosures move ahead, tax foreclosure is a slower process. Under state law, taxing jurisdictions typically must wait until three full years of unpaid property taxes pile up before they can foreclose on that basis, which means some tax-driven remedies will not be available until 2027 or later. Meanwhile, iPark’s tax certiorari filings are aimed at sharply reducing the assessed value, which would lower future tax exposure while also reshaping the numbers for creditors and the county. The comptroller warns that pending lawsuits, prior lien releases and stacked mortgages add up to a complicated road ahead, one likely to unfold in boardrooms and courtrooms more than across a negotiating table, as reported by Spectrum News.
County officials say they are still open to negotiated solutions that safeguard taxpayers while preserving the site’s redevelopment promise. For now, Gallagher’s report puts the spotlight on a tough balancing act: how to keep economic hopes for iPark 87 alive when the numbers show millions in public obligations still sitting unpaid. The next plot twists are likely to arrive through UCEDA board actions and court rulings on foreclosure and tax assessments.
