CITY OF NEWBURGH – Developers have come and developers have flopped.

But the City of Newburgh is hoping a new buyer will give life to the former Liberty Street School, which last hosted students in 1980 and has since become an eyesore.

Thomas Dodd, who owns a gallery and film studios in New York City, and is accumulating a portfolio of properties in Newburgh, said last week he is not ready to discuss his plans for the building.

But Ward 2 Councilwoman Genie Abrams, whose district includes the school, said Dodd is planning to convert the building into film studios after completing the purchase from Bluestone Developers LLC, whose condominium project never came close to being completed.

“I can’t wait for this to happen,” Abrams said. “It’s been a long time coming.”

Built in the late 1800s by Frank Estabrook, who also designed City Hall and the former school now housing Newburgh’s courthouse, the structure at Liberty and Renwick streets was Public School 6 when it was closed in June 1980 as part of a state-ordered integration plan.

A succession of developers was given a shot at reviving the property after its closure.

In 2000, city officials proposed deeding it to Orange County for use as a county museum.

None of those ideas had panned out when Bluestone began negotiating with the city in 2008.

In January 2013, the city deeded the property to Bluestone under an agreement in which the developer was to renovate the 24,000-square-foot property into condominiums.

“He had great plans for it, and then the recession came along,” Abrams said.

Dodd is the owner of Brooklyn Fire Proof, which rents film and television sound stages, and film and grip equipment.

He has also been acquiring commercial and residential properties in Newburgh under the name RipRap LLC.

RipRap’s holdings include properties on Carson Avenue, and Chambers, Clark and South Williams streets.

Last month, the City Council cleared the way for Dodd’s purchase by approving a resolution eliminating a restriction in its deed with Bluestone that limited development at the property to residences.

At the meeting, Planning and Development Director Deirdre Glenn sought to reassure Council members who were worried that the property could again languish in the hands of a developer.

“He has finished a number of projects,” she said of Dodd. “He’s done a lot.”

lsparks@th-record.com