On Sept. 9 local, state and federal officials announced $10.5 million in federal funding to assist businesses in Chautauqua County during the COVID-19 pandemic. From left to right – Assemblyman Andrew Goodell; Joel Frushone, EDA Director – Office of External Affairs; Anthony Foti, Intergovernmental Affairs Director – U.S. Department of Commerce; Richard Dixon, CFO – County of Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency; Congressman Tom Reed; Senator George Borrello; County Executive Paul Wendel; Mayor Wilfred Rosas; Crystal Surdyk, Interim Director of Development for the City of Jamestown; Michael Metzger, Chairman of the Board for the CCIDA and VP for Finance and Administration at SUNY Fredonia.

JAMESTOWN – The Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency has allocated more than half of the federal CARES Act money it recently received to assist businesses throughout the county during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In September, The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) announced the county IDA was selected to receive a $10.5 million grant to establish a new, low-interest Revolving Loan Fund (RLF). Both businesses and non-profit organizations are allowed to apply for the funding as a means to respond to economic injury resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

As currently established, the new RLF provides loans of no less than $25,000 and not to exceed $1 Million, and working capital loans of up to $250,000, with an interest rate of 2.44% (the lowest allowed).

The first round of funding – totaling more than $5.7 million, was awarded during the Tuesday IDA board meeting – going to 28 businesses and non-profit entities.

Of the 28 loan approvals, six of them covered more than half the total amount being borrowed:

• $700,000 to SKB Auto Sales (Fredonia)
• $646,650 to Big Inlet Brewing (Mayville)
• $500,000 to Cockaigne Resort (Cherry Creek)
• $494,460 to Artone (Jamestown)
• $375,000 to Heritage Ministries (Gerry)
• $375,000 to Advanced Production Group (Dunkirk)

The remaining loans were as follows:

• $322,000 to Luscombe Aircraft Corporation (Jamestown)
• $250,000 to La Quinta/ Holiday Inn Express/ Hampton Inn (Jamestown)
• $227,000 to Pace’s Pizzeria (Jamestown)
• $200,000 to Webb’s Candies, Inc./ Webb’s Motel Inc. (Mayville)
• $182,183 to Kimbert Manufacturing dba Barton Tool Inc. (Falconer)
• $125,000 to Ark Wholesale, LLC (Fredonia)
• $125,000 to Brigiottas Farmland Produce & Garden Center Inc. (Jamestown)
• $125,000 to Corvus Bus & Charter, Inc. (Falconer)
• $125,000 to Excelco/Newbrook, Inc. (Silver Creek)
• $125,000 to Falconer Hotel, LLC (Falconer)
• $125,000 to International Ordnance Technologies (Jamestown)
• $125,000 to Pucci Carpet One Furniture & Bedding, Inc. (Fredonia)
• $115,000 to Shawbucks, Inc. (Jamestown)
• $125,000 to Webb’s Harbor Restaurant and Bowling Lanes, Inc. (Mayville)
• $87,500 to Bilicki Law Firm, PC (Jamestown)
• $85,000 to Skate Shop (Jamestown)
• $75,000 to The Original Crunch Roll Factory, LLC (Westfield)
• $41,000 to Merritt Estate Winery, Inc. (Forestville)
• $35,000 to Ivory Acres Weddings LLC (Frewsburg)
• $25,000 to Uhl Ventures LLC dba Servpro of Jamestown/Olean (Jamestown)

IDA Director Mark Geise reminds businesses that the application and program details are still currently available, and urges anyone interested in applying to contact the CCIDA office at 661-8900.

When completed, the hotel will have 70 rooms. It is expected to be completed by April 2015. The hotel will benefit from a tax lease agreement with the county Industrial Development Agency, along with a low-interest loan from the IDA’s Al-tech fund in the amount of $250,000.

The Payment in Lieu of Taxes, or PILOT, proposal would give Boxwood Hotel LLC as much as 15 years worth of tax breaks if the full proposal is granted by the IDA. Boxwood is looking to build a 70-room Holiday Inn Express on Route 60 near Exit 12 of I-86.

Town of Ellicott officials are in support of granting the full proposal to Boxwood Hotel. However, the city of Jamestown has come out against granting any type of tax break for the business, claiming that such incentives would go against state rules pertaining to IDAs. WRFA has learned that Jamestown may possibly even take legal action to challenge the IDA, should it move forward and grant a tax incentive to the hotel developer.

In his most recent Monday Morning Memo e-newsletter, Chautauqua County Executive Greg Edwards has come out in support of giving the tax break to Boxwood Hotel LLC. He claims that the incentives are important to because they will help to spur further economic development and job creation in that area of the county.

Boxwood Hotel also owns the Hampton Inn located at Exit 12 in the Town of Ellicott and the Best Western on Third Street in Jamestown.

The IDA board has the option of giving the fully requested PILOT to the hotel developers, amending any portion of the package, or withholding the tax break entirely. Today’s meeting begins at 10 a.m. and will take place at the IDA offices on Harrison St. in Jamestown. It is open to the public.

During a recent meeting of the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency, the board approved preliminary action toward the acquisition and straight leasing of the project, which is a proposed Holiday Inn Express by Boxwood Hotel, LLC. In all, the hotel will cost $4.9 million to construct and include more than 70 rooms.

A public hearing on the Hotel development project will take place Tuesday at 5 p.m. in the Ellicott Town Hall building on South Work St. in Falconer.