Nevele Grande Resort
Much like many other resorts within the Borsch Belt, the Nevele started off as a small family-run hotel. Opened in 1901, initially as a country club, it would quickly grow into a resort by the 1950s and 1960s.
Around the late 1970s to early 1980s, most of these resorts and the towns they resided in started to stagnate, with the majority of them closing indefinitely. The main reasons being: a loss of their original predominately Jewish customer base, hence why it was called the Borsch Belt;
The Nevele was not spared in this regard, as it contentiously struggled to remain relevant. In the early 1990s, there was an attempt to cater to large-scale companies. Certain areas were leased out to mainly corporations for work-specific conventions, which provided a mild success for the aging resort.
Perhaps through a premonition or just common sense, the Slutskies pawned off the resort in 1997. Fred Kassner, co-founder of Liberty Travel, acquired the 800-acre resort and country club for $10 million.
The passing of ownership was albeit short, considering that the new owner passed away in 1998. Afterwards, the property fell into the hands of Stratford Business Corp. for $415 million in 2000. Over the span of the next 3 years, $11 million would be spent on modernizing it.
By 2006, the guest rooms and other faculties were starting to show their age. An overwhelming smell of mold along with mildew was present throughout the premises. Any issues that guests could have had with the roaches or cigarette burns in their room were subjected to poor customer service. For the steep price of $225, there was hardly any reason to spend the night here in a room without hot water or heating.
As the effects of the 2008 economic recession began to be felt across America, the resort was in deep financial straits. In the sweltering heat of summer, it owed more than $700,000 in taxes to Ulster County. In March, a balance of $35,277 was to be paid out after an employee was injured on the clock. It all culminated after the 4th of July weekend; following 108 years of service, The Nevele Grande Resort was shuttered for good.
Post-closure, the pressure continued to build. An unpaid debt of $293,826 was owed in water, gas, and electric fees alone. Evidently, it proved to be too much, so it was once again put up for sale. Talks between the owner and a potential new buyer were initiated that October. A day before the sale was to be finalized, a brief walkthrough of the hotel and its urine-stained halls caused the sale to fall through.
A renewed interest in the property occurred sometime in 2014. For a time, it was considered to be the site of a new casino. If this proposal came about, it could have revitalized the former Borscht-Belt-era resorts. An estimated 1,200 jobs could have replaced the 100 lost since its abandonment. Ultimately, this was just bound to be one of many projects that fell through.
Just last year, there was yet another change in ownership. 1100 Arrow LLC, purchased it for an estimated $5 million last October. Part of the sale also included a plan to demolish the majority of the former resort. Two medium-scale hotels and residential housing are to be constructed in lieu of the already existing structures on the property. Any signs of construction are noticably absent from the future worksite.
The future for Nevele remains one that is unknown to the general public, but we can theorize at the very least. The most prominent one amongst online circles is that the construction will never begin, owing to the bald eagle nest located near the swimming pool. Not only that, during storms or heavy bouts of rain, the area floods a significant amount. Whatever the truth may be, only time can tell.