With its new contract with the state as a food vendor and operator at Niagara Falls State Park, Delaware North is planning to turn a former wholesale food outlet store building in Niagara Falls into a warehouse and commercial commissary.
General contractor Armand Cerrone Inc., through its Micbarcer Realty Co., plans to renovate a 60-year-old one-story building at 298 Hyde Park Blvd. into storage space and a commercial prep kitchen for the Buffalo-based hospitality company. The 15,000-square-foot building – formerly home to Tripifoods Consumer Food Outlet – sits on 1.5 acres.
Delaware North, which has been Cerrone’s tenant for 20 years, will be the sole occupant of the building, which previously had multiple tenants. It will use the facility for storage during the off-season and for food preparation during the tourist season.
As part of the $598,930 project, Cerrone will bring the building up to code, update the lighting, construct the new kitchen and buy equipment such as refrigerators, freezers, ovens and stoves. Costs include $423,930 for construction and $150,000 for equipment and furnishings.
Cerrone has asked the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency for $369,000 in tax breaks for the project. That includes a $28,957 in sales tax breaks, $3,563 in mortgage-recording tax abatement and a 15-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes on any improvements to the property that will save it $336,232. The rest of the funding will come from bank loans and a $23,930 Niagara County facade improvement grant.
Published by The Buffalo News
