BELMONT –The Allegany Crossroads Utility Corporation and Allegany County have reached an agreement with the Town of Friendship to provide water to the Allegany Crossroads Development Site, where future development is planned for a hotel, restaurant, and fueling station with convenience store. The Allegany County Board of Legislators passed a resolution to support the agreement on Monday.
“Development at the Crossroads area of I-86 and NY-19 is a priority project for the Board of Legislators and we are glad to see this agreement in place,” said Chairman of the Board of Legislators, Curt Crandall. “Thank you to the Town of Friendship and Allegany County Industrial Development Agency for sharing your vision.”
Allegany County Crossroads Utility Corporation will now award the Crossroads Water System construction contract to the lowest bidder, Evingham Site Excavation of Bolivar, NY.
Under the water service agreement, the Allegany Crossroads Utility Corporation (a board created by the Allegany County Industrial Development Agency) will construct the Crossroads Water System and connect to the Town of Friendship Water System in order to provide water to the Crossroads site located in Belvidere. Upon completion of construction of the Crossroads Water System, the Town of Friendship has agreed to sell water to the Crossroads Utility Corporation; the town will not bear any of the expenses of the waterline installation or operation.
“This agreement is the result of the deliberation and dedication of all individuals involved – including members of the Allegany County Industrial Development Agency (ACIDA), the Allegany Crossroads Utility Corporation, and the Town of Friendship board, with long-term support from the Allegany County Board of Legislators. By staying focused on the end-goal of furthering development at the Crossroads site, we were able to reach an agreeable outcome for all involved,” said Craig Clark, Executive Director of the ACIDA.
When site selectors (consultants who help companies and developers identify locations to start or grow their business) visited the Crossroads Development Site in the fall of 2017, they confirmed it would be a good location for industrial development given its expanse of usable space and ideal location on I-86, but identified lack of water service as a real deterrent for future companies and developers. With the newly signed water service agreement in place, the Crossroads Development Site has become much more marketable for hospitality and retail development, as well as for future industrial development.
Now that a water service agreement has been reached and the Allegany County Crossroads Utility Corporation has the support of the Allegany County Board of Legislators, construction of the water system will begin in the near future.
