Whole Foods in Hyde Park? Town resolution raises possibility at Bellefield; parties mum

The Town of Hyde Park officially supports Whole Foods becoming a part of the Bellefield at Historic Hyde Park project.

Whether that is a probability, and what prompted the town to make such a statement, is unclear.

The town board held a special meeting 9 a.m. Aug. 22 with an agenda consisting of two resolutions. One, which passed by unanimous vote, authorized Town Supervisor Alfred Torreggiani “to provide a letter of support for Whole Foods to become a featured grocer” for the $1 billion Bellefield project. Earlier language for the resolution, which was amended but not updated online, called for a letter in support of “Whole Foods commitment to become the official grocer” for Bellefield.

In the approved resolution sent by the Hyde Park Clerk's Office, the town said Whole Foods is “a candidate for inclusion at Bellefield.”

Thomas Mulroy, founder and chief executive officer of T-Rex Capital Group, the investment firm behind the Bellefield project, responded to direct inquiries with a statement. He did not say if developers are in contact with Whole Foods, but said there are not tenants yet committed to Bellefield. He did not address reasons why the town would propose the resolution.

Torreggiani refused comment on the project, the resolution or what prompted the special meeting.

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The resolution appears to be the only town meeting document in which the possibility of the specialty grocer coming to Hyde Park is mentioned.

While the town posts videos of each of its meetings on its YouTube page, the Aug. 22 meeting was missing as of Monday. According to Torreggiani's confidential secretary, on the occasion that special meetings "are called to handle unforeseen issues or to authorize something that came up unexpectedly, we do not always have the chance to contact our company that records the meetings."

When questioned about whether negotiations between the project and Whole Foods are happening, Mulroy in the statement said they are still "pursuing tenants and vice versa.

"We are in discussions with over 300 tenants and are in full lease-out mode," Mulroy said. "There is no commitment at this time from any tenant or Bellefield at Historic Hyde Park. All discussions with all tenants are confidential and announcements will be made when appropriate."

Hyde Park's next planning board meeting is scheduled for Sept. 7, with its next town board meeting Sept. 12.

Whole Foods Market is routinely one of the businesses local residents have said they would like to see enter the region. Purchased by Amazon in 2017, the specialty grocery store with a focus on organic and natural produce has built a loyal following willing to travel to shop. The chain's closest locations to the heart of Dutchess County are more than 30 miles way, in Chappaqua and Danbury, Connecticut.

Bellefield at Historic Hyde Park is a 340-acre mixed-use development which, when completed, is planned to include two boutique hotels; 801 residential units, 344 of which are rentals while the remaining 457 are for sale, retail, event and restaurant spaces; an education center; walking trails; gardens, farming space and more.

The development is located at 15 West Dorsey Lane, across Route 9 from the Culinary Institute of America.

Its developers have promoted a project that leans into the region’s identity as a culinary destination, including “experiential” components, such as breweries and a winery. A food market and a food hall are also planned, though developers had not previously said a traditional supermarket space would be included and Mulroy did not respond to an inquiry regarding that possibility.

The project broke ground in 2018, though it was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and much work since then has been infrastructure underground. In May, the project started construction on The Inn at Bellefield by Residence Inn.

This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Hyde Park supports Whole Foods at Bellefield; reason for vote unclear