John Davis of the Poughkeepsie Journal reports that the construction of a Dunkin’ Donuts in the LaGrange town center remains at a standstill due to lack of capital.

“The bank pulled the financing,” said Nick Palumbo, co-developer of the project on Route 55, next to Arlington High School.

After receiving town Planning Board approval in June to build the Dunkin’ Donuts, Palumbo and co-developer Joe Deangelis made rapid progress in constructing the foundation and frame of the two-story structure.

Palumbo said they used $500,000 of their own money to begin construction with the understanding that a bank loan would finance the completion of the project. But the commercial bank the developers were anticipating getting a loan from backed out of the agreement.

“That put us in a real bind,” Palumbo said Friday. Work on the structure halted in September. The absence of activity at the site of the skeleton of the structure is a testament to the difficulty the developers have had in getting a bank loan.

“That’s why the economy is in the shape it’s in, because the banks are not lending money,” Palumbo said. With no funding in the immediate future, the project is at a standstill. The developers are in no jeopardy of losing any of the approvals granted by the town — until next summer when the building permit expires.

The developers can request an extension of the one-year permit the town issued in the summer, said Ken McLaughlin, LaGrange building inspector. The town likely would extend the permit, unless the building inspector or Town Board identified a problem in reviewing the application.
“We want to see the project completed,” McLaughlin said.

The developers need $1.1 million to finish the project, Palumbo said. Dunkin’ Donuts, which the developers have a franchise deal with, has been understanding of their financial difficulties, he said.

Palumbo and Deangelis own and operate six Dunkin’ Donuts shops in the towns of Fishkill and East Fishkill and City of Beacon.

 Poughkeepsie Journal