JOHNSTOWN – The Fulton County Demolition Team in the next 30 days plans to demolish several old cottages in a 100-acre area near the entrance of the Tryon Technology Park in Perth, paving the way for what officials say will be 100 acres of prime developable land.
County Board of Supervisors Chairman Charles Potter said Wednesday one of county government’s roles at Tryon continues to be to assist the Fulton County Industrial Development Agency with infrastructure work at the park.
“By doing that, by eliminating these structures, it will help get a certification as a shovel-ready site,” Potter said.
He said the demolition work is being done as part of the county’s Operation Green Scene Program.
Potter said it has been a fairly light winter and the demolition team feels it can get the work done now. He said about five or six cottages to the right of the Tryon entrance – leftover from the days the site was an old state youth detention center – will be razed by the county. He said the county also hopes to get the “shovel-ready” site designation from the state in order to market this area of Tryon.
The IDA also partnered with the county to hire Adirondack Signs of Saratoga Springs to construct what IDA officials say will be an “attractive” entrance sign to the park.
Potter said the sign is due to be installed soon.
“We have gone ahead and authorized the sign out there,” Potter said. “It will be more branding and visibility [for the park].”
The Fulton County Industrial Development Agency was consumed last year with work at the Tryon Technology Park, which it owns, and is trying to market it along with county government.
Most of the IDA’s 2015 annual report, released publicly this week, is largely devoted to documenting work at the park. The site currently has one tenant, but is trying to transform its other space for new businesses.
The annual report summarized the work done by the IDA during 2015, such as two phases of an infrastructure improvement project. Other work has included setting a lot price of $20,000 per acre, adopting design standards for Tryon projects, having the county’s facilities staff operate the wastewater pump station servicing Tryon, exploring solar energy options at Tryon, and allowing state police to train at the site.
Vireo Health of New York LLC is the first tenant of the park, as a manufacturer of medical marijuana.
“Vireo Health had created over 20 new jobs at its facility by the end of 2015,” the annual report said. “Additional jobs will hopefully be created in the future as the company grows its location in the Tryon Technology Park.”
The report stated: “2015 was another very busy year for the IDA with respect to the Tryon Technology Park project. The IDA board, in partnership with the Fulton County Board of Supervisors, continued work on transforming the former Tryon Juvenile Detention Facility into shovel-ready sites for new businesses.”
Fulton County Planning Director James Mraz, executive director of the IDA, said Wednesday he doesn’t mind that the Tryon Technology Park took up a lot of the IDA’s agenda in 2015, hoping for a repeat this year.
“We’re certainly hopeful and we would like to see it dominated by another project going there,” Mraz said.
Johnstown 4th Ward Supervisor William Waldron, chairman of the board’s Economic Development/Environment Committee, said Wednesday the county also sees its role at Tryon as helping to promote it. The Fulton County Center for Regional Growth is the county’s main conduit for marketing.
“Basically, the county is going to market Tryon,” Waldron said. “We’ve got a couple of [marketing] projects in the que.”
Michael Anich covers Johnstown and Fulton County news. He can be reached at [email protected]
