A Queens-based wholesale dairy distributor received preliminary approval for economic incentives for a $10 million project in Freeport.
The Town of Hempstead Industrial Development Agency gave its preliminary approval for benefits to Natural Foods Inc., which plans to purchase and renovate an existing 67,307 square foot industrial building on 2.3 acres at 159 Hanse Ave.
Natural Foods intends to relocate 50 employees from 475 Doughty Blvd. in Inwood and from Forest Hills, Queens, and create another 50 jobs within two years of the completion of the project, according to an IDA statement.
Established in 2004, Natural Foods distributes organic, natural and dairy products to more than 900 stores in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.
The Freeport property, formerly occupied by adhesives manufacturer Columbia Cement Co., had been considered a Superfund site by the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation. Natural Foods will be outfitting the building with energy-efficient equipment towards the distribution of its products.
“In addition to generating many new employment opportunities for the town and the Village of Freeport, this project will rehabilitate a long-vacant building and generate new revenues for the various taxing authorities,” Fred Parola, CEO of the Hempstead IDA, said in the statement. “We are pleased to begin the process of incentivizing the project.”
David Winzelberg
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