USA: NEW YORK - Farm Operator In Ellicottville Seeks Tax Breaks Help To Grow Fresh Greens
August 9, 2022
A Southern Tier farm operator that specializes in growing various types of lettuce, herbs and other greens for sale to consumers, restaurants, and grocery stores is asking the County of Cattaraugus Industrial Development Agency for tax-exempt financing to build a corporate headquarters and growing facility in Ellicottville for the company's vertical gardens.
Ellicottville Greens, which was founded in 2019 by CEO Gabriel Bialkowski, wants to provide affordable and high-quality produce to consumers in economically distressed areas, where there are concerns about access to fresh foods.
The company is seeking to create a network of sustainable indoor vertical farms, where it can grow microgreens, baby greens, leafy greens, and herbs, under the Ellicottville Greens and Vertical Fresh Farms brands.
The indoor farm management company, which operates and buys sustainable farms, plans to build a 9,120-square-foot facility on 2 acres of farmland on Simmons Road in Ellicottville, which it would lease from landowner John Metz. Plans include leveling the ground, laying down a crushed limestone pad, installing utility upgrades, building a pole barn, and placing mobile, modular shipping containers where the food would be grown.
The project would create six full-time and two part-time jobs. If approved, work would begin in September and finish in a year, although occupancy would begin by December.
"We are bringing the first full-scale indoor farm to the southern tier of WNY," Bialkowski wrote in his application. "Financial assistance allows this project to come to life and be a staple for innovation in Cattaraugus County. Without financial assistance, we wouldn't be able to expand into Cattaraugus County."
Tags: Cattaraugus County, New York Cattaraugus Industrial Development Agency Organic Farming
Gabriel Bialkowski Ellicottville, New York Cattaraugus County Ellicottville Greens FoodJonathan D. Epstein
Jonathan D. Epstein
News Business Reporter
I've been a business reporter at The Buffalo News since 2004, now covering residential and commercial real estate and development amid WNY's resurgence. I'm an upstate native, proud to call Buffalo my home, and committed to covering it thoroughly.