NORWICH – Construction of a new, 7,000 square foot Byrne Dairy convenience store, laundromat and gas station is well underway and city officials announced this week a tentative opening date of June 29.
Sonbyrne Sales, Inc. – parent company of Byrne Dairy – purchased the four parcels of property located on the corner of Silver and East Main Streets in early December of 2010. In March, construction of the new facility began, with the demolition of the former Bruce Beadle Realty building. Since then, work has continued at a rapid pace, said Mayor Joe Maiurano, and workers on-site Wednesday said the approximately $2 million project is running right on schedule.
“We’re confident that the new Byrne Dairy will be up and running by the end of June,” said Maiurano. “This has been a long process and I think everyone involved is excited to see the end result.”
The new Byrne Dairy will include a 4,000 square foot convenience store – replacing the current store adjacent to the Fire Department – a 3,000 square foot, coin operated laundromat and self-service gas facilities. The gas station, laundromat and store will operate 24 hours a day, according to city officials.
Sales tax proceeds at the new facility are expected to exceed $650,000 per year, reported Planning and Community Development Specialist Todd Dreyer, with an estimated $123,000 of that making its way into the city’s coffers. As for the old Byrne Dairy store, Dreyer said it was his understanding that Sonbyrne Sales would like to sell or lease that property once the new store is open for business.
Dreyer agreed that construction at the new site seemed to be going smoothly and said that – if for some reason the projected June 29 opening is delayed – people shouldn’t be too concerned.
“This store is going to be around for a long, long time,” he added.
The new, expanded convenience store will require an additional 5 full-time and 5 part-time positions, reported Dreyer, and is expected to include a Byrne Dairy Ice Cream Shoppe and deli.
Repeated phone calls to Sonbyrne Sales Vice President of Store Development Christian Brunelle for further details on the new store were not immediately returned.
Maiurano said he’d received numerous requests for a downtown gas station since he first took office as mayor, which would enable city residents to fuel-up without the inconvenience of driving outside the city. Approximately 9,000 cars travel past the convenience store and gas station’s new location on a daily basis, added Maiurano, who said he expected that number to increase once the expanded Byrne Dairy opens for business this summer.
“This is a business that’s been here for 40 years and to see them invest in our city is a great thing,” stated Maiurano. “This new store will be of great benefit to the entire city.”
In July of 2010, the Chenango County Industrial Development Agency voted down a Payment in Lieu of Taxes agreement with Sonbyrne Sales due to the retail nature of the proposed expansion. Shortly thereafter, city officials approved tax incentives for Sonbyrne in the form of a 485B business investment exemption.
The incentive will grant Sonbyrne a property tax exemption of 50 percent on the increase in assessed value in its first year, with a 5 percent decrease each subsequent year for a period of nine years, according to New York State law, said Dreyer.