Skoufis: Woodbury Common Will Forgo IDA PILOT

Senator James Skoufis (D-Orange County) announced he successfully negotiated an agreement with Woodbury Common to forgo a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) from the Orange County IDA; the outlet mall will, instead, pay full property taxes on their proposed retail expansion. Senator Skoufis’ support for the expansion was contingent on this concession which also includes a requirement to use local construction labor. The project is due to create 770 new permanent jobs as well as over 1600 construction jobs on-site.
After Woodbury Common initially expressed interest in applying for property tax breaks from the Orange County IDA, Senator Skoufis intervened with the outlet mall’s executive team. With the support of Woodbury Town Supervisor Tom Burke and Village Mayor Andrew Giacomazza, Skoufis negotiated a resolution that respects taxpayers and ensures the project, upon securing local approvals, will be a major financial contributor to the village, town, school district, and county.

“I want to thank Woodbury Common for coming to the table and engaging in a professional, intelligent discussion on incentives,” said Skoufis. “For every tax dollar that’s generated from this retail expansion, that’s one less dollar that has to come from local residents to fund our municipalities and schools, making this agreement a major win for the community. This is what smart economic development looks like.”

Senator Skoufis has been a longtime critic of the Orange County IDA which often doles out subsidies to corporations that do not require taxpayer-funded assistance. Earlier this year, Skoufis successfully passed a provision to install a state-appointed monitor within the Orange County IDA who will have the authority to overturn anti-taxpayer decisions made by the agency. The monitor is expected to be appointed this fall.