Oct. 17–HIGHLAND FALLS — A group of West Point graduates is steadily moving toward a summer 2020 goal of building a $39 million, 122-room luxury hotel to replace the former Pointer's Echo Motel in Highland Falls.

The five partners, including four West Point graduates from the classes of '81 and '86, have received municipal building approvals, just torn down the former motel, started securing financing, and expect to soon sign a hotel management company, said Ken Fleischer, one of the partners.

Plans are picking up steam for the yet-to-be-named independent, four-star hotel project, first proposed in 2014 in another form under the name the Old Guard Hotel at West Point.

The partners behind parent company Church Hill Properties of Highland Falls New York LLC hope to soon sign Aparium, a Chicago operator of independent boutique hotels.

Plans for the hotel at 1610 Route 9W call for a five-story, 100,000-square-foot structure on 5.4 acres, built into a hillside with sweeping views of the Hudson River and Highland Falls.

Amenities would include a 1,942-square-foot high-end restaurant serving 137 patrons; two large banquet rooms; meeting rooms; a fancy 1,276-square-foot rooftop lounge or solarium for 76 users; and a 3,648-square-foot outdoor event deck.

"We all know Highland Falls desperately needs another hotel, and I'm so glad to hear it's going to be this quality of a hotel," said Amanda Dana, Orange County's tourism director.

The five seasoned businessmen replacing the former Pointer's Echo Motel, closed for more than a decade, include West Point class of '81 graduates Fleischer, an emerging growth banker with H&F Capital Services, and Robert Luster, who oversees construction of large public infrastructure projects such as airports and highways, with Luster National Inc.

Don Devine, a classmate of Fleischer and Luster, is a corporate turnaround and consolidation specialist currently running PumpMan Holdings.

Darold Londo, who graduated West Point in '86, is a gaming industry expert and CEO of the consulting firm Lac du Flambeau Business Development Corporation. And Jason Araghi, who opted instead for New York University's business school, is co-founder and CEO of the Green Beans Coffee store chain.

"What makes it beautiful is the project's location in the Hudson Valley," Fleischer said. "What makes it economically viable is its proximity to the Military Academy at West Point."

"It's our intention to bring a destination to the area, with a new level of product the region has never seen," Fleischer added.

Dana said it's a sign of Orange County's strong economy that the partners are pushing to build a hotel during the county's slow lodging season, typically between November and March.

Orange County Partnership President and CEO Maureen Halahan agreed. Boutique and luxury hotel projects are hot now, said Halahan, whose Goshen nonprofit promotes economic development.

"I don't think they're going to have any problem in our market filling those rooms," added Halahan, whose organization helped the hotel project early on. "In fact, we're going to have a problem getting those rooms if we want to stay there."

daxelrod@th-record.com