Acquisition raises questions about future use, taxes and impact on the Warwick community
By Myrek Zastavnyi
WARWICK — The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York has quietly expanded its Warwick campus with the acquisition of the former IBM/Kyndryl Sterling Forest Business Resiliency Services Center on Long Meadow Road, adding another significant property to what has become the worldwide headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
World Headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses at Warwick, New York. Source: FB Jehovah’s Witnesses Examiner
The purchase includes a 68-acre campus featuring an approximately 433,000-square-foot data center located immediately adjacent to the organization’s existing headquarters on Kings Drive. Although the sale price has not been disclosed, the acquisition represents another major investment by the religious organization in the Town of Warwick and continues a decade-long expansion throughout the Hudson Valley.
In a prepared statement, Watchtower spokesperson Jason Hohl confirmed the purchase, saying only that the organization is still evaluating how the property will be used.
“A recent opportunity arose to purchase a property in Orange County, New York, adjacent to our World Headquarters in Warwick,” Hohl said. “We are currently evaluating how the facility may best support our future operational needs and have not yet finalized specific plans for its use.”
The organization added that ownership of the property will provide “additional flexibility to support the growing global needs of Jehovah’s Witnesses.”
While the acquisition itself is confirmed, what comes next remains an open question.
Questions Yet to Be Answered
For Warwick residents, the purchase raises several important questions.
Will the existing data center continue operating in its current form, or will the facility be converted to another purpose?
Will the property eventually become tax exempt if incorporated into the organization’s religious operations, or will it continue contributing to the local tax base?
Will renovations or expansions require review by the Town of Warwick Planning Board or Building Department?
Could the facility bring additional employees, volunteers or contractors to Warwick, increasing demand for housing, services and local infrastructure?
Or will the purchase simply provide operational flexibility for the organization’s worldwide headquarters without significant changes visible to the public?
As of press time, none of those questions had been publicly answered.
From IBM to Watchtower
The property itself has a long history in Warwick.
Originally developed by IBM as part of the company’s extensive Hudson Valley operations, the facility later became part of Kyndryl Inc. following IBM’s 2021 corporate restructuring. Kyndryl has since sold several data center properties worldwide as part of its evolving real estate strategy.
The Warwick facility was designed as a secure business resiliency and data processing center with substantial electrical infrastructure and direct connection to the Orange & Rockland Utilities power grid.
A Continuing Presence
The acquisition is the latest milestone in the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ expanding regional presence.
After relocating their international headquarters from Brooklyn to Warwick in 2016, the organization established a 1.6-million-square-foot campus on more than 250 acres that serves as its global administrative center.
Just a few miles south, construction continues on the organization’s 1.5-million-square-foot audiovisual production center in neighboring Ramapo and Tuxedo, a project expected to accommodate nearly 1,000 volunteers while producing religious programming distributed worldwide.
Together with previous housing acquisitions in neighboring communities, the latest purchase further strengthens Warwick’s role as the global center of the organization.
A Story Still Developing
Although no redevelopment plans have been announced, the acquisition is likely to receive close attention from local officials and residents alike as questions surrounding future use, tax status, infrastructure, and potential community impact are addressed.
The Warwick Valley Dispatch will continue following the story as additional details become available.
