The Niagara County Industrial Development Agency board of directors on Wednesday approved a package of tax incentives for a proposed greenhouse operation in Cambria.
Per the terms of a 15-year Payment In Lieu Of Taxes agreement, NF Lockport LLC, a subsidiary of Northern Farms in partnership with Netafim and Orbia, will receive tax breaks valued at $6.57 million over the life of the agreement. These include two years of sales tax exemption ($4.56 million savings), 15 years of reduced property tax load ($1.59 million savings) and mortgage recording tax exemption ($412,500 savings).
The 30-acre site at 5222 Junction Road will house a 25-acre greenhouse and a 100,000 square foot warehouse, mainly for growing strawberries with other fruits and vegetables for the New England market.
Northern Farms said in its PILOT application that it’s investing $95 million in the operation, construction of the facilities will take 12 to 14 months, and 63 new jobs will be created, paying an average $51,000 a year.
The site is a former scrapyard that has been vacant for more than 20 years; the ground is said to be contaminated by heavy metals, lead, and oil. Northern Farms has submitted applications to Niagara County Brownfields Development Corp., for remediation assistance, and to New York Power Authority for low-cost power.
A public hearing on the PILOT agreement, held Oct. 30 at Cambria Town Hall, drew no public comments.
The project still must undergo site plan review by the Cambria town planning board.