Erie County IDA Supports Manufacturing Initiative

The Erie County Industrial Development Agency isn’t in the business of just handing out money. It’s supporting local manufacturers.

So when asked late last month to allocate $25,000 to launch a new regional resource to help Western New York manufacturers export their goods, the agency didn’t hesitate.

The Empire State Development Corp., which already works to support exports and trade through nine international offices, is proposing to use a $100,000 Global NY grant to fund a regional program and a staff member who would reach out to local manufacturers, provide them with export training and resources, and help them apply for Global NY financial support.

The program would be managed by Invest Buffalo Niagara and World Trade Center Buffalo Niagara. To launch it, Invest Buffalo Niagara will invest $50,000, while ECIDA and the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency will each invest $25,000. The money would be held in escrow and used to pay expenses during the year, then reimbursed by Empire State Development.

“Companies often ask us where to start,” said Mo Sumbundu, international trade manager for Global NY in ESD’s Buffalo office. “Seventy-five percent of global trade takes place outside the United States, so we try to make sure Western New York is a part of that.”

The executives of Iskalo Development Corp. must be hungry, because they just bought a snack.

The Williamsville-based real estate developer last month acquired the former headquarters and “food-grade” warehouse of Mister Snacks, a local manufacturer of snack and candy packaging for stores and vending machines.

Iskalo paid $2.48 million for the 4.99-acre parcel at 500 Creekside Drive in Amherst, in the Audubon Industrial Park, which includes a 28,000-square-foot light industrial building built in 1999.

Owned and operated by Michael and Steven Stern, Mister Snacks sold all-natural trail mixes, dried fruits and nuts, granola, chocolates, yogurt, candy and other crunchy and salty snacks, including under the Sunbird Snacks and Stone Mountain brands, for more than 30 years before being acquired in February 2023 by Howe Co. of Grove City, Pennsylvania, and relocating to the state.

“Institutional-quality buildings like the one at 500 Creekside are not often available in this market,” said Paul B. Iskalo, CEO of Iskalo. “Mister Snacks’ leadership took a great deal of foresight in planning and engineering the building to accommodate future changes in their business and to allow for efficient expansion on the site. In this regard, the building is ideal for a company looking for a long-term location.”

The Sterns, who owned the property through 500 Creekside Drive Inc., sold it through Blake Commercial Real Estate. Iskalo said she plans to upgrade the building with a view to renting it out.

“The building is attracting a lot of interest from tenants,” said David Chiazza, Iskalo’s executive vice president. “We don’t think the building will stay on the market very long.”

If the previous deal wasn’t interesting enough, this one might just be.

Niagara Chocolates has sold its industrial warehouse at 3500 Genesee St. in Cheektowaga to Avalon Warehouse Solutions for $6.5 million.

The 129,344-square-foot facility is located on 8.6 acres, according to Pyramid Brokerage Co., which handled the transaction.

Last month, the Hamburg Industrial Development Agency approved just over $150,000 in tax breaks for a Southtowns franchise of a North American cleaning and restoration giant that plans to expand its Hamburg Village facility.

ServPro of the Southtowns wants to renovate 3,000 square feet of space at its 97 Evans St. facility and build a 6,400-square-foot addition for more office and warehouse space. The site is currently used for storage and parking, but the $900,000 back-office and warehouse project will allow the company to increase its staff, while adding production and warehouse space.

The company, a franchise of ServPro Industries of Gallatin, Tenn., said it would retain 30 full-time jobs and create five more, with an average annual salary of $43,000. Through its subsidiary T&L Beachfront Holdings Ltd., the company received $97,261 in property tax breaks over seven years, $78,750 in sales tax breaks on purchases and $1,500 in tax breaks on mortgage registrations.

The IDA is also set to approve an extension and increased tax breaks for Staub Precision Machine, a manufacturer of high-precision machined components that wants to build a 58,000-square-foot facility on 7.1 acres of land on Grimsby Drive to bring its existing operations closer together and allow for future growth. It is expected to create five full-time jobs within two years, while retaining 33.

The company, which would consolidate its high-volume production facilities into the new building on a plaza on Lake Street, says the $9.72 million project would allow it to scale up operations and maximize production capacity while easing space constraints it currently faces. It will benefit from $1.77 million in tax breaks, including $349,900 in sales tax breaks, $72,900 in mortgage tax breaks and a 10-year PILOT that will save it $1.46 million.

The project was originally presented at a cost of $7.5 million in 2021, but the project changed and expenses increased.

Further north, the Lockport IDA also extended and expanded tax incentives for a wind turbine manufacturing facility owned by SIVA Powers America. The company plans to acquire property at 1060 Enterprise Drive and build a 10,000-square-foot manufacturing facility and machine shop to assemble wind turbines and eventually produce wind turbine blades. The facility would also have its own on-site wind turbine to generate its electricity.

The project, which will add 15 full-time and five part-time jobs, was approved in January 2023, but higher costs pushed the total cost to $4.59 million.

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The Buffalo Next team gives you a broad overview of the region’s economic revitalization. Email your tips to [email protected] or contact Buffalo Next Editor David Robinson at 716-849-4435.