Middletown leaders say $7.5 million transportation-hub grant revived; downtown parking garage construction continues

Orange County Legislator Janet Sutherland told the Middletown Common Council that county officials have secured nearly $7,500,000 in grant money to revive a planned transportation hub near the city bus garage, and that recent meetings with CoachUSA and county representatives produced a “very positive” step forward.

The project matters because it would create an off-street bus pull-in, add safe parking and connect to the Heritage Trail, officials said — components they say should improve commuter access and make the area more attractive for CoachUSA riders.

“We were able to, secure almost $7,500,000 in grant money to make this project happen,” Legislator Janet Sutherland said. Mayor DeStefano later said he and staff were on a virtual meeting with CoachUSA, county attorneys and others and expected “a significant announcement in a very short period of time.”

The mayor told the council the project is “complicated.” He said it involves the city contributing property and CoachUSA contributing property it paid for years ago — “Coach, injecting property that they paid, dollars 220,000 for many, many years ago” — and that the work will produce a new terminal with EV stations, bike sharing and trail connectivity.

Council members also received an update on two related capital projects downtown. Construction continues on a South Street parking garage intended as a phased project; city materials shown to the council indicate a net increase of roughly 80 parking spaces in phase 1. The mayor and staff said heavy equipment was on site and work had resumed after earlier delays by Orange and Rockland.

The council also heard that a court facility project is underway, described as a roughly $6,000,000 effort with about $3,000,000 the mayor said was funded through Senator Scoofus and the remaining $3,000,000 from city sources. The mayor said phase 1 of the parking project is being built so the city can later expand to a second phase with more parking.

Separately, the council heard an update on the community-campus planning work for the former psychiatric center. Pattern for Progress is managing a $250,000 Brownfield Opportunity Area planning grant to help produce community-led concepts for vacant and underused sites on the campus. The mayor said the city also recently received $6,600,000 for work at the Kleiner facility and is seeking an additional $3.3 million for that larger project.

Council members asked technical questions about design and jurisdictional roles. Alderman Johnson asked whether the county would hire an engineer and whether the city would be part of design decisions; the mayor said the county will manage the engineering but the city will have input on trail placement and other site elements.

Officials urged continued outreach to the community and said they expect further public updates and a short-term announcement on the transportation-hub status.

Sources referenced in this report spoke during the council meeting’s general remarks and project updates; the council did not vote on the transportation hub or the community-campus plan during the session.