By Holly Crocco
Despite the unexpected passing of well-known Hudson Valley developer Joe Cotter, who was the visionary behind the Village of Brewster revitalization project, his company says it will honor his legacy by fulfilling all projects that are still in the works.
Cotter passed away Oct. 25 at age 66 from an alleged heart attack at his home in New York City.
“Regardless of whether you agree with the proposed plan for Brewster, Cotter seemed genuinely passionate about it,” wrote Southeast Town Historian Jack Alcott.
According to reports, Cotter’s company, Natural Resources, has already invested at least $5 million in the redevelopment and now owns the Sprague residential apartments and the pool hall on Main Street, along with other properties. He also had plans to bring an educational facility of some kind to the abandoned Garden Street School – maybe a college or BOCES satellite campus, according to Alcott.
“It’s been reported that Cotter was spending Fridays at the pool hall, shooting a couple of games and dining as he was thinking about the property’s future,” he said. “Cotter spent time learning about Brewster and it showed. He called Brewster a ‘diamond in the rough.’”
Cotter was president of National Resources, the New York-metropolitan area real estate development and investment firm that focuses on the redevelopment of urban and industrial sites.
Co-founder Lynne Ward said that at 66 years young, Cotter “accomplished so much, developing visionary projects in places and communities that he believed in.”
“Joe was very proud of his family, a great friend who meant much to so many, effortlessly connecting on a personal level,” said Ward. “We will honor him by continuing to develop our existing projects and those in our pipeline to create transformative projects.”
Southeast Town Councilman Eric Larca agreed that Cotter was devoted to the communities he sought to improve.
“I had the privilege of meeting him several times, and he always struck me as smart, passionate, with a cool vision for the future,” said Larca. “He was not your typical developer, as shown by both his completed and in-progress developments. Whether you love or hate the project, there’s no denying he was committed.”
Cotter was the keynote speaker at the Putnam County Economic Development Council’s business symposium Oct. 3 at the Putnam County Golf Course in Mahopac.
Under Cotter’s leadership, National Resources redeveloped more than $2 billion of projects with some of the world’s largest capital partners.
Long before major real estate developers discovered the Yonkers waterfront, Cotter transformed the former Otis Elevator industrial complex in Yonkers into i.Park Hudson, a thriving workplace that includes the new Lionsgate Studios television and film production complex.
Working with their partners at Great Point Studios, the $500 million Lionsgate project has reportedly changed the face of film and television production in Westchester and New York State, with more than 16 soundstages and the Robert Halmi Sr. Academy of Film and Television, a public high school for grades six through 12, on the former Leake & Watts property.