Buffalo and Erie County Land Development Corporation to Receive $11.5 Million; Focused Attraction of Shovel-Ready Tracts NY (“FAST NY”) Grant Program Award Will Support the Establishment of the Erie County Agribusiness Park
ERIE COUNTY, NY— Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz today issued the following statement pursuant to NYS Governor Kathy Hochul’s announcement that $32.6 million has been awarded to improve seven locations under the Focused Attraction of Shovel-Ready Tracts New York (“FAST NY”) grant program, administered by Empire State Development. Among the awardees is the Buffalo and Erie County Land Development Corporation, recipient of an $11.5 million award or nearly one-third of the total funds awarded in this round. The funding will be used to support the establishment of the Erie County Agribusiness Park and will power utility infrastructure work at the site, including roadway and sewer improvements, power and gas transmission extensions, and a substation.
“This FAST NY funding provides a huge boost to our efforts to transform the former Angola airport and will further our goal of creating a dynamic, accessible Agribusiness Park that acts as a hub for Erie County produce as well as a central location for growers to utilize as their home base for processing, exports and more,” said Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz. “I thank Governor Hochul for this grant funding and for sharing our vision to create the Agribusiness Park. Agriculture is a large sector of the county economy and when this Park comes online it is poised to be even bigger.”
The former Angola airport has been shuttered for over twenty-five years. The new agribusiness park will focus on attracting food and agricultural processing businesses to the region, expanding available markets for local farms, and expanding the Erie County brand. Since its inception three years ago FAST NY has awarded nearly $233 million to thirty-two sites, with locations in every region across Upstate New York.
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