By PATRICIA DOXSEY
Freeman staff
pdoxsey@freemanonline.com; twitter.com/pattiatfreeman

Nevele Investors LLC on Friday closed the deal on its purchase of the storied Nevele Grande Hotel and Country Club in Wawarsing.

Now, the investors said, they will turn their attention to lobbying the state for one of the coveted casino gambling licenses expected to be available at the end of 2013.

Nevele Investors LLC purchased the shuttered 500-acre resort, which includes a 450-bed hotel, for $6.7 million in a court-approved deal.

The previous owner closed the Nevele in 2009.

Michael Treanor, chief executive officer of Nevele Investors, said the firm plans to return the Nevele to its once regal place as the “crown jewel” of the Catskills in Ulster County.

Immediately, he said, the company will begin maintaining the property, including keeping the lawns mowed, repairing fences and providing security.

Eventually, he said, the company expects to embark on a major renovation and reconstruction project that will include the demolition of most the buildings on the property (though not the iconic circular tower) and could create as many as 1,000 construction jobs.

“It’s suffering from extreme neglect, and much of the property is not salvageable,” Treanor said. He said new buildings will go up after old ones are demolished.

Treanor said the investors also intend to revitalize the ice skating rink on the property and restore the golf course to “championship status.”

All of that, however, is contingent on scoring a gaming license. Continued...

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New York voters are expected to consider a proposition in 2013 that, if approved, would pave the way for as many as seven non-Indian casinos in the state.

Treanor said the Nevele is ideally situated to become a premier casino on the eastern side of the Catskills, but the competition for the licenses is expected to be stiff.

Treanor said if the company does not receive a gaming license, plans for the resort will not go forward.

Over the next two years, Treanor said, the company will conduct all the predevelopment work, including obtaining the necessary town permits and conducting engineering studies so that if the firm is awarded a gaming license, the site will be shovel-ready.

Town of Wawarsing Supervisor Scott Carlsen said the revitalization of the resort would be a boon for an area suffering from high unemployment.

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