Ulster BOCES wants to move some of its programs to iPark 87, the former IBM campus in Kingston, to relieve overcrowding at its Port Ewen location.

Shifting the career and technology education component to iPark 87 would be a “once in a lifetime opportunity,” Ulster BOCES Superintendent Jonah Schenker told the Rondout Valley Central School District board at its Jan. 18 meeting. It would cost the school district $113,000 to $122,674 over five years after school aid is factored in.

National Resources, which owns the building, is willing to spend $1 million to retrofit the building for BOCES for a move expected in fall 2025. The eight superintendents who lead the school districts that make up BOCES will vote on the move, though not the boards, since each will pay a portion of the rent.

Still, “in the spirit of transparency and because there will be a lot of media coverage,” Schenker said he wanted to discuss the potential move directly with the eight boards.

Programs at the BOCES facility at Port Ewen serve 1,200 students, well above the 900 for which it’s designed, after technical education enrollment rose by 10 percent. That facility would be repurposed as a middle-high school campus for the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning.

National Resources is seeking businesses for iPark 87 after a much-touted deal with Zinc8 fell apart last year, leaving it with Archtop Fiber as its sole commercial tenant. Last summer, the Ulster County Legislature approved County Executive Jen Metzger's plan to use space there to form and house the new Workforce Innovation Center for the Green Economy, and the county Economic Development Agency also plans to set up shop there. National Resources is in talks with food and beverage companies and other battery companies to lease parts of the space, Schenker said.