William J. Kemble is reporting in the Daily Freeman the expected purchase price of Hudson Valley Mall is $8.1 million, approximately 12 percent of the property’s assessed value. Ulster Town Supervisor James Quigley said such a small amount for a large space could destabilize the retail business base in Ulster. “He’s going to create an environment where he has a cost advantage over other locations in the retail environment in the town of Ulster,” Quigley said of prospective buyer, James Hull. Hull is the owner of the Georgia-based Hull Property Group. Quigley recently met with Hull representatives. “I’m worried about retailers chasing that cost advantage and starting to play checkers and leaving existing commercial property to go to another location, thus destabilizing the location that they’re currently in,” Quigley said. The mall was placed in receivership after its owner, PCK Development of Liverpool, Onondaga County, defaulted on nearly $50 million in debt. The plan for Hull to buy the mall was announced earlier this month, but the expected purchase price was not publicized. Hull supposedly has plans to spend $10 million on improvements to the property, but Quigley is concerned that the buyer has not elaborated on those plans. “...So far, Mr. Hull has not been capable of articulating any kind of recovery plan....," the supervisor said. Hudson Valley Mall was opened in 1981 and expanded in 1982, 1989 and in the early 2000s. Over the summer, approximately 20 percent of the complex’s rentable space was empty. Read the full story in The Daily Freeman.