By Elliot Brandt
SHERIDAN — Chautauqua County’s industrial development agency is about to hire engineers to answer a question that has hung over the vacant Eagle Bay property for more than 20 years: can roughly 500 acres of Lake Erie shoreland north of Dunkirk become one of the largest shovel-ready industrial sites in New York?
Proposals from consulting firms were due Monday at 4 p.m., according to the County of Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency’s request for proposals. The agency said it expected to choose a firm in the last week of October, with a contract running from November through Dec. 31, 2028.
What the money buys
The work is paid for by about $1.35 million from a $675,000 Empire State Development FAST NY grant, a National Grid grant, the IDA and the property owner.
“What this means is we’re now fully funded with the total program budget of $1.35 million of which the IDA county’s share is going to be less than 10%,” IDA economic development coordinator Nate Aldrich said in August, when he announced a $500,000 National Grid award, according to The Post-Journal.
Mr. Aldrich said the first phase of environmental and site work would look for “any deal breakers that would prohibit us from taking a harder look at developing the site.” He predicted those two phases would take 18 to 24 months, the paper reported.
The RFP lists a long scope of work: new boundary and topographic surveys, geotechnical borings, wetland delineation, cultural-resource and endangered-species reviews, a noise study, traffic and rail-access analysis, and studies of water, sewer, broadband and electric capacity.
No tenant, no market study
The IDA’s Oct. 14 answers to bidders’ questions are frank about how early this is.
The agency wrote that it “has not identified a specific end user” for the site. It listed possible targets including advanced manufacturing, semiconductor supply-chain operations, logistics and other “energy-intensive industrial operations.” It also said no formal market study has been done and none is planned as part of this contract.
Bidders were told to plan for electric demand “potentially exceeding 10 megawatts (MW).” The IDA said a preliminary review with National Grid found that “significant electrical infrastructure improvements are anticipated,” including transmission upgrades.
The agency also said no current boundary or topographic survey of the property exists. It plans to act as lead agency under the state’s environmental review law and pursue a full Generic Environmental Impact Statement, with Phillips Lytle LLP as legal counsel, including on an “associated rezoning.”
Who owns it
Local reporting has described the property as 657 acres owned by Steve St. George and zoned for recreation, according to The Observer and The Post-Journal. The RFP describes the roughly 500-acre project area as “under site control” by the IDA. It says the land has “remained largely undeveloped for more than two decades following its acquisition from Niagara Mohawk.” The IDA told bidders it would sign an agreement with the owner covering access for fieldwork.
When it awarded the grant in March, Empire State Development said the work would “expand upon work done during the 1990s, including environmental investigation, rezoning, surveying and real estate due diligence.” It said the project could make Eagle Bay the county’s second large-scale industrial site, with rail access to both CSX and Norfolk Southern, according to the agency’s release.
“Through our FAST-NY program, we’re investing to help communities across the state prepare shovel-ready sites that attract new businesses and good paying jobs,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in that release.
The pitch, and the doubts
At a Chautauqua County developers forum at SUNY Fredonia earlier this month, ESD senior director of site development Christian Mercurio said ready sites now matter more to companies than incentives.
“It used to be incentives were number one. It used to be the workforce was number one. But really, right now product is number one,” Mr. Mercurio said, according to The Post-Journal. On Eagle Bay, he said: “I know it’s early and I know there’s a lot to be discussed with the community and all its partners but it (Eagle Bay) .. has a lot of advantages.”
County Executive PJ Wendel has said the site could become the largest shovel-ready site in the state, The Post-Journal reported. The county’s first such site, the I-90 Veterans Memorial Commerce Park in Ripley, is expected to be finished in the first half of 2027.
Town officials have been more cautious. Sheridan’s Planning/Zoning Board said in April that any rezoning “will be made consistent with the best interests of the Town of Sheridan; mindful of Eagle Bay surrounding neighbors,” The Observer reported. The board asked for contour maps, host community agreement recommendations and FAA flight information.
Some residents are skeptical. In a May commentary in The Observer, Sheridan resident Marguerite Kaczor wrote that “New York state is throwing hundreds of thousands of our hard-earned tax dollars into yet another shovel ready site for industry that is not showing up.” She urged officials to focus on severe erosion along the lakeshore instead.
What’s next
The IDA expects to pick a consultant this week. According to the agency’s Q&A, no formal permit applications are expected during this phase. The Buffalo Chronicle has asked the IDA how many firms bid and when the board will vote. Their answers will be added here.
Featured image: The Lake Erie shoreline in the Town of Sheridan, 2020. This is not necessarily the Eagle Bay property. Photo: Andre Carrotflower via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.
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