Isn't it grand?

New office building opens in Goshen Goshen — A festive mood prevailed over a dark, rainy downtown Goshen last Friday. Everyone arriving for the party under the tent at Goshen’s newest landmark, North Grand Park, heartily shook the hand of Ray Quattrini, the man who tore down Conklin’s Lumber and put up architecturally upscale buildings suitable for such tenants as J. P. Morgan Chase Bank, Prudential-Rand Realty and the Pucci Investment Group. Wraps, salads and beverages by Courtesy Caterers and music by “The Gravikord Duo” served as an official welcome to these tenants and a grand opening celebration for North Grand. The Rev. Virginia Hoch of the United Methodist Church of Goshen called the new office building “a great asset to the community.” She said it was built on the site of the original United Methodist Church before it became a mill and seed store and eventually the family-owned Conklin’s Lumber. The original building, where the Chase Bank now is, was originally purchased for $2,900, she said. Each of the other businesses occupied one of the subsequent expansions before the church moved to its present location on Main Street. The Rev. Hoch said Quattrini was keeping history alive by bringing a bank started by Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr to the location. Town Supervisor Doug Bloomfield said North Grand Park added to Goshen’s beauty. Village Trustee Lynn Cione fondly referred to Conklin’s as a Goshen landmark from which directions could be given to any location in the village. North Grand Park was not created out of “spur of the moment thoughts,” she said, but “with love and care.” The Quattrinis have touched everything in Goshen in one way or another and have “made Goshen a place where she wants to live,” she said. Ray Quattrini describes himself as a “bootstrap” kind of person who started working at age 12 for a neighbor who owned a construction business. At that young age he mixed cement and carried materials for his neighbor, he said. Finding that he loved construction, he learned all that he could. He originally studied to be an architect but quickly decided he didn’t like the thought of being behind a desk. After moving here from Bergen County, N.J., in 1973, he built the home of the wealthy businessman, Larry Meinwald from New York City, who would later become his partner, forming the Goshen Corporation. According to Quattrini, they “spent the next 12 years investing in Goshen.” Meinwald liked grand-scale projects and had the means to finance the ones that both he and Quattrini were passionate about. Together they purchased and renovated approximately 20 buildings in Goshen. One of their projects was the Flat Iron building, a location that was formerly the old Piggett’s Market near the corner of Main Street and North Church Street. His partner retired in 1997, at the age of 85, and died in 2001. According to Quattrini, North Grand Park is his biggest project ever. The buildings behind the ones inhabited by Chase, Prudential Rand, and Pucci’s are presently looking for tenants. The building going up next to the police station is designed to accommodate a food market on the first floor and a restaurant on the second floor. When asked if he considered himself the “Donald Trump of Goshen,” Quattrini laughed and said no. “People think I’m wealthy because of what I do,” he said. “Goshen is a small town.” He adds that loves what he does, and although he lives outside of Goshen, 95 percent of his work is here. Quattrini said he is “just someone who’s fortunate enough to do what he likes to do.”