The overgrown ruins of Grossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel, the sprawling Sullivan County getaway that once drew Eleanor Roosevelt and Jackie Robinson and helped inspire the movie Dirty Dancing, could finally see new life. Florida-based PPG Development has submitted formal plans to the Town of Liberty Planning Board for a mixed-use campus spanning more than 1,000 acres, with hotel rooms, luxury residences, and sporting facilities planned across the long-dormant property.
PPG Grossingers LLC, the corporate entity behind the effort, filed conceptual redevelopment plans in July seeking major subdivision, site plan, and special use approvals for a combined site exceeding 1,100 acres, according to the Sullivan County Democrat. Developer Ari Pearl merged the original Grossinger's property with the adjacent former Muss property to assemble the larger footprint, the paper reported. As detailed by The Real Deal, PPG Development purchased the vacant site for $14.75 million roughly a year before the planning documents surfaced, after the property had previously sold to investors for $9 million.
Pearl told local planning board proceedings in July that he attended Grossinger's and other Catskills resorts as a child, calling the project a “dream project,” per the Sullivan County Democrat's account. Local economic development officials have noted that his childhood connection to the region reinforces his commitment to what is expected to be a multi-year effort.
What's Actually Planned for the Old Resort Grounds
Formal plans call for renovating the original 18-hole “Big G” golf course and adding a second 18-hole “North Course,” along with a lakefront boutique hotel called The Lodge at Grossinger Lake, according to Mid Hudson News. The station's report also describes plans for a year-round equestrian center and between 125 and 175 residential homes. Per The Real Deal, the project as filed includes 175 luxury private residences, 100 hotel rooms, two golf courses, a polo and equestrian center, a sports complex, a spa and wellness center, restaurants, and a working farm.
The redevelopment is expected to unfold across four phases, with the first stage covering the resort hotel, cottages, sporting areas, farming operations, and one south-property golf course, The Real Deal reports. Grossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel closed in 1986 after decades as a favored destination for New York City visitors, especially through the 1950s and 1960s. Much of the site was largely demolished in 2018, and a fire wiped out one of the last standing vestiges of the resort in 2022.
A Resort That Once Made History
At its mid-20th-century peak under Jennie Grossinger, the 1,200-acre resort featured 35 buildings, hosted 150,000 guests annually, and operated its own airstrip and post office, according to Smithsonian Magazine. In 1952, Grossinger's became the first resort in the world to make and use artificial snow on its ski slopes. Nicknamed the “Waldorf of the Catskills,” per the Jewish Women's Archive, the resort hosted Rocky Marciano's boxing training camp and welcomed guests including Eleanor Roosevelt, Nelson Rockefeller, Elizabeth Taylor, and Jackie Robinson, while also launching the careers of numerous American comedians.
Pearl's PPG Development already runs an ultra-luxury golf enclave in South Florida, the 150-acre Shell Bay Club in Hallandale Beach, co-developed with Witkoff Group and featuring a Greg Norman-designed championship course with a $1.35 million membership buy-in fee, as Hoodline reported in its Shell Bay tower plan shakeup. Pearl transitioned into real estate development after owning a New York flooring business and now manages a portfolio of more than 2,500 residential units.
The Economic Case and the Regulatory Hurdle
Traveler spending in Sullivan County jumped 12.5% in 2023 to a record $969 million, generating 4,908 local jobs and supporting 17% of total labor income countywide, according to the Sullivan Catskills Visitors Association. Local economic development leadership projects the multi-phase Grossinger's transformation will cost hundreds of millions of dollars and generate hundreds of construction and permanent hospitality jobs. Mark Baez, president of the Sullivan County Partnership for Economic Development, has said he does not foresee issues with getting approval for the project, per The Real Deal.
Still, the Liberty Planning Board's review must clear New York's State Environmental Quality Review Act, which requires designated lead agencies to evaluate traffic, water capacity, sewage, and community character before issuing final permits, according to J&G Law. That process has proven treacherous for other large Catskill resort proposals. In May, a New York State Supreme Court justice invalidated the final site plan approval for the proposed Blackhead Mountain resort in nearby Greene County, ruling that the Cairo Planning Board failed to conduct the legally required “hard look” review of local water supply, wastewater, and energy impacts, as Hoodline covered in its report on the Round Top resort ruling.
That ruling, which came after an Article 78 lawsuit from local residents and environmental organizations, sided with project opponents who argued the 127-unit Blackhead Mountain development, which would have converted the existing property into a 66,000-square-foot resort and spa, was too big and would harm the environment. Whether the Liberty Planning Board's review of Grossinger's draws similar scrutiny remains to be seen, but the Blackhead Mountain outcome stands as a reminder of how closely Catskill resort proposals are examined before shovels can hit the ground.
