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LIKE THE PHOENIX RISING MEADOWGREENS IS COMING BACK
Meadowgreens to be rebuilt
HUDSON REGISTER-STAR (Friday - February 19, 2010)
"A month after a fire devastated Meadowgreens Restaurant and Bar in West Ghent, principal
owner Carmen Nero, a wiry ball of energy, described his plans for the golf complex.
Nero sat in the pro shop discussing the future of Meadowgreens Resort, which will include a
hotel, restaurant, nine more holes of golf, cabins and snow tubing.
In the background heavy machinery removed the last of the debris which still smelled heavily of
smoke at the site where a fire on Jan. 19. destroyed the restaurant and bar.
The building, part of a complex that includes a nine-hole golf course and a campground, was
consumed by flames and was fully involved when firefighters arrived. The damage was
estimated by the state at $1.1 million.
The blaze was labeled accidental by the Columbia County Cause and Origin Team and
undetermined by the New York Department of State.
According to Nero, he had employed 32 area residents and helped provide a place for friends
and families in the community to get together.
“There were always family affairs,” he said. “It was a gathering point.”
Nero said that he was saddened by the loss, but was looking toward the future.
“We’re bringing it back,” he said.
The future includes a plan for a hotel situated on a hill on the 155-acre property that would
provide 360-degree views of the county.
Standing at the crest of the hill, Nero pointed out the Berkshire Mountains to the east and the
Catskills to the west. He also pointed out where the nine new holes of golf and cabins would be
located.
“We need to bring money into Columbia County. You need a destination point, a place where
people can stay overnight,” he said. “We can’t do it just on day trippers.”
A study is being conducted, he said, to determine what the hotel’s capacity should be.
Nero believes the cost for the hotel-restaurant would be around $5.5 million. He’s currently in
the process of rounding up investors for the project. A part of the plan may be paid for through
the sale of a piece of the property to the county.
He’s in negotiations with the county to have them purchase a swath of land as a safety zone for
the Columbia County Airport next door.
“We’d have to reconfigure the (current) golf course,” he said of the plan.
Nero seems to be a man with a large capacity for innovation. While driving to the hill where the
hotel is to be located, we passed a fire truck sitting in a field.
He said that when he bought Meadowgreens he realized that a fire truck could be used as an
irrigation pump.
“I bought a used one for around $2,000 instead of spending $25,000 for an irrigation pump,” he
said with a smile.
Nero, born and raised in the county, came back to the area after college and began working for
the Kraft company, which had a plant in Livingston.
“I worked there for 20 years,” he said. Nero eventually became plant manager.
His entrepreneurial spirit later led him to start a number of businesses before purchasing
Meadowgreens from the Kozel family in 2006.
According to John Kozel, the golf course was first opened in 1964. His family bought it in “1980
or 1981” he said.
January’s fire wasn’t the first. Kozel said that there had been a fire at the facility around 1975.
While January’s fire destroyed the restaurant and bar, Nero continues to hold events at the site.
Nero continues to look towards the future of Meadowgreens.
“You can’t look back,” he said. “It’s not going to help at all.”
To reach reporter Andrew Amelinckx call 518- 828-1616, ext. 2267 or e-mail
aamelinckx@registerstar.com.
Meadowgreens to be rebuilt
HUDSON REGISTER-STAR (Friday - February 19, 2010)
"A month after a fire devastated Meadowgreens Restaurant and Bar in West Ghent, principal
owner Carmen Nero, a wiry ball of energy, described his plans for the golf complex.
Nero sat in the pro shop discussing the future of Meadowgreens Resort, which will include a
hotel, restaurant, nine more holes of golf, cabins and snow tubing.
In the background heavy machinery removed the last of the debris which still smelled heavily of
smoke at the site where a fire on Jan. 19. destroyed the restaurant and bar.
The building, part of a complex that includes a nine-hole golf course and a campground, was
consumed by flames and was fully involved when firefighters arrived. The damage was
estimated by the state at $1.1 million.
The blaze was labeled accidental by the Columbia County Cause and Origin Team and
undetermined by the New York Department of State.
According to Nero, he had employed 32 area residents and helped provide a place for friends
and families in the community to get together.
“There were always family affairs,” he said. “It was a gathering point.”
Nero said that he was saddened by the loss, but was looking toward the future.
“We’re bringing it back,” he said.
The future includes a plan for a hotel situated on a hill on the 155-acre property that would
provide 360-degree views of the county.
Standing at the crest of the hill, Nero pointed out the Berkshire Mountains to the east and the
Catskills to the west. He also pointed out where the nine new holes of golf and cabins would be
located.
“We need to bring money into Columbia County. You need a destination point, a place where
people can stay overnight,” he said. “We can’t do it just on day trippers.”
A study is being conducted, he said, to determine what the hotel’s capacity should be.
Nero believes the cost for the hotel-restaurant would be around $5.5 million. He’s currently in
the process of rounding up investors for the project. A part of the plan may be paid for through
the sale of a piece of the property to the county.
He’s in negotiations with the county to have them purchase a swath of land as a safety zone for
the Columbia County Airport next door.
“We’d have to reconfigure the (current) golf course,” he said of the plan.
Nero seems to be a man with a large capacity for innovation. While driving to the hill where the
hotel is to be located, we passed a fire truck sitting in a field.
He said that when he bought Meadowgreens he realized that a fire truck could be used as an
irrigation pump.
“I bought a used one for around $2,000 instead of spending $25,000 for an irrigation pump,” he
said with a smile.
Nero, born and raised in the county, came back to the area after college and began working for
the Kraft company, which had a plant in Livingston.
“I worked there for 20 years,” he said. Nero eventually became plant manager.
His entrepreneurial spirit later led him to start a number of businesses before purchasing
Meadowgreens from the Kozel family in 2006.
According to John Kozel, the golf course was first opened in 1964. His family bought it in “1980
or 1981” he said.
January’s fire wasn’t the first. Kozel said that there had been a fire at the facility around 1975.
While January’s fire destroyed the restaurant and bar, Nero continues to hold events at the site.
Nero continues to look towards the future of Meadowgreens.
“You can’t look back,” he said. “It’s not going to help at all.”
To reach reporter Andrew Amelinckx call 518- 828-1616, ext. 2267 or e-mail
aamelinckx@registerstar.com.
| GOLF COURSE TO REOPEN MARCH FIRST |
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