Middletown Buys More Abandoned Psychiatric Hospital Buildings for Redevelopment

The City of Middletown on July 8 bought 13 more derelict buildings from New York state for a nominal amount to further redevelop the former state psychiatric center property. Abandoned mainly because of the statewide downsizing of mental health institutions, the 200-plus-acre campus has slowly come back to life over the past 10 years with the arrival of Northern Academy, Fei Tian College, Northern Medical Center, and SY Aesthetics. It also bears a new name: Middletown Community Campus. Most of the redevelopments thus far have followed a similar strategy, which the city intends to repeat in the most recent purchase: Buy land from the state and transfer it for a nominal amount to a developer with a binding commitment to a timely buildout....