By Erika Norton, WPAOG Senior Multimedia Journalist 

Local business-owners, government officials and community members met for Highland Falls Rising, a half-day leadership and investment forum where WPAOG’s Hudson Valley Program not only showcased the recent successes of their town revitalization project, but how HVP is partnering with local and state officials to catalyze their next phase for the Gateway to West Point.  

Speakers included representatives from HVP’s partners the Village of Highland Falls, the West Point Garrison Commander, and the Orange County Partnership, as well as state and local government officials Senator James Skoufis, Village of Highland Falls Mayor James DiSalvo, Town of Highlands Supervisor Bob Livsey, and Assistant to the County Executive Mike Torelli.  

The forum was spearheaded by Erin Helle ’09, Executive Director of Strategic Development and Partnerships at WPAOG, who shared with attendees the main mission of the Hudson Valley Program: to engage the Hudson Valley, elevate Highland Falls, and enhance the West Point experience.  

“We’re not a grant program, or a government agency, or a developer,” Helle said, “but we are a convener. We see our role as creating the conditions to bring exactly the people in this room together to do what we’ve done so far, which is to collaborate, work together, vision, and then hopefully get some stuff done coming out of that.” 

In order to begin elevating Highland Falls, a main priority is to revitalize Main Street. By HVP supporting local businesses and housing, Highland Falls will see increased economic activity. So far, HVP has helped open four new businesses, but since those have opened within the past year, six additional businesses have opened in Highland Falls. 

HVP’s CONNECT after school program is another key part of this work. By providing after-school support, CONNECT is helping working families, improving student outcomes and reducing childcare costs. Led by Director Christine McDonald, the program allows parents to work, strengthening the local workforce and helping to ensure families can afford to stay in Highland Falls. CONNECT also brings graduates, cadets, and partners together to serve the community, connecting West Point to the local community.  

Those businesses, along with the CONNECT program, have created over 63 new jobs, plus additional revenue for the local economy. Helle shared that with this success, HVP is now looking at their next phase. This includes plans to activate the waterfront by developing a marina to turn visitors into customers and drive growth. HVP is also looking to enhance the visitor experience, creating a more welcoming gateway to West Point. 

“Bringing your business here offers a chance to position your brand at the gateway level,” Helle said. “Few locations can provide this level of visibility associated with a mission-driven institution, and the opportunity to become part of the visitor experience from the moment that guests arrive.” 

To do this, Helle said HVP recognizes that community infrastructure will need to be improved, which is where local and state officials shared their interest in helping to upgrade water, sewer, and power systems to support this future. New York State Senator Skoufis shared his intention to help revitalize Highland Falls. 

“Nearly 100% of the property in this community is West Point and off the tax rolls,” Skoufis said, “so there is an outsized role and obligation in my mind for the state and the federal government to try and make up for that and bring in dollars to help make projects happen that the local community just simply doesn’t have the tax base for.” 

The remarks underscored both the structural challenge facing the village and the broader strategy behind HVP’s efforts: that meaningful revitalization will require coordinated investment across multiple levels of government alongside private-sector interest. While officials acknowledged the limitations of a tax base constrained by federal land ownership, they also pointed to the importance of positioning Highland Falls and the surrounding region as competitive, high-value destinations for development, tourism, and long-term growth.  

“When it comes down to it, leadership, location, and leveragability—there’s nothing more,” Torelli said. “That’s what it’s about… Orange County is the place to be.”