State Farm Building on Route 23 to be Demolished

The former State Farm building on Route 23 North is being demolished.

The town granted the owner of the property a demolition permit recently, town planner John Szabo confirmed Monday.

The building has already begun to be torn down. The entrance to the property on the service road on Route 23 was closed and the for sale sign that was posted on the property was not on display Monday.

Piles of debris could be seen from an adjacent property and work crews were on the site Monday afternoon.

The unused property is located next to a large office building and Kohl's. It has remained unused for years. 

Lowe's applied to construct a store on the property years ago. However, residents of the nearby Packanack Lake section of town flooded public meetings on the matter in protest. They testified that the store would cause too much traffic and noise, and would disrupt their quality of life. A new Lowe's store was built in Riverdale on Route 23 North a few miles away.

Zoning department personnel said that no construction applications have been filed for the property to date.

The property has an assessed value of $3.5 million; the building is valued at $1.5 million. More than $243,000 in taxes was paid on the property in 2012.

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