Two local projects have been short-listed for a piece of the $750 million expected to be awarded in December in state grants and tax credits.
Identified by the Mohawk Valley Regional Economic Development Projects as two of its 30 priority projects are the Village of Schoharie for the Parrott House and Jefferson Main Street LLC.
“That gives us between now and then to sell the sizzle of the steak,” said Schoharie Mayor Larry Caza.
With the Parrott House long the focus of revitalization efforts in Schoharie, the village is seeking $1.7 million to create an inn, restaurant and café there.
The village would funnel grants and private equity to the project, Mayor Caza said, but wouldn’t contribute financially, and owners Dean and Ruth Coughtry, who’d had similar plans for the 1870 building before cost estimates came in considerable higher than expected, would need to agree to sell it.
“The buzz on REDC is very good,” said Trustee Peter Johnson, “and we have advocates in Marion Terenzio and Sarah Goodrich…To make it into the top 30 with most of the projects out toward Utica is a great sign.”
The village still has more than $800,000 in play in ESD grants already awarded for the Parrott House, but the project stalled after estimates for the work came in at $7 million in 2018; previously they’d been $1.5 million.
According to the MVREDC application for the Parrott House, it would “become a vehicle for local job creation through commercial use on the first floor, complementing a redeveloped inn that has long been a village hub of activity.”
Plans still call for the village to begin developing the project, but it’s also possible that SEEC could take it on or help create a not-for-profit to do it, Mr. Johnson, who’s also on that board, said.
In Jefferson, the Jefferson Main Street LLC—Carol Greenman, Dee Glas, Sara Henry, and Donna Potak--is seeking $90,000 to restore an 1860 farmhouse at the entrance to the hamlet and equip it with a stone mill—Middle Brook Mill at 170 Main.
The mill would process locally-grown ancient grains and the project would include a commercial kitchen for value-added products including breads, pastas, and crackers.
Distribution will be in both nearby metropolitan areas as well as local retail outlets.
Jefferson Main Street has already been collaborating with the Organic Growers Research and Information-Sharing Network (OGRIN) and the Center for Agricultural Development and Entrepreneurship (CADE), introducing growers to the ancient grains, and grain testing will be done at the Hartwick College Craft Food and Beverage Lab, Ms. Greenman said.
Currently, she said, they’re seeking grants to help purchase seed and mobile on-farm processing equipment to be shared with its partners and for mentoring growers; they’re also researching product development.
Once Jefferson Main Street is in production, Phase III will focus on beginning a training program to teach young people milling and baking skills.
“It’s a sustainable business model that will provide much-needed jobs in our rural area,” Ms. Greenman said.