Jade Empire LLC owner Rahsaan Graham presents on Prendergast Landing project to the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency Board (July 25, 2023)
The Prendergast Landing project has applied for assistance through the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency.
The proposed business incubator will be located at 106 Fairmount Avenue, which is the former location of Joyce’s Keg Room and was more recently owned by The Resource Center. The building is 12,000 square feet with a project cost of $2,231,300.
Jade Empire LLC is applying to the IDA for a 15-year adaptive reuse Payment In Lieu of Taxes as well as sales tax and property tax abatements.
Jade Empire owner Rahsaan Graham presented on the project to the IDA board, saying he wanted to help develop small businesses in Jamestown, “So, you’ve outgrown the street fair downtown but you’re not ready to lock into a full lease in one of these buildings yet. And so the space is really multi-use space. The basement floor we’re renovating into kayak storage and rentals. So, you get out of work, you don’t want to go home and strap the kayak on and then drive it down, your kayak is stored right there at the landing and you can jump right on after work. And then some rentals. I’ve already talked to a tenant who would like to run that operation.”
Graham said the first floor will be retail with a cafe in the back. The second floor will have small offices for start-up businesses with the construction of short-term rental apartments on the third floor.
He said he’s hoping to cater to users of the parks nearby including the Skate Park, “I’m hopeful that one of the anchor tenants in there.. I’ve got one booth that’s a little larger.. I would love for that anchor tenant to be someone who is really catering to the skate park, the bike path, those types of things. You know, you blow out your knee pads, or you need a new tire, or you need a new oar for your kayak. And so I’ve already talked to some local business owners about having a second location in there to be kind of an anchor tenant that really helps to cater to that.”
Graham said his goal is to get vendors the skills they need to eventually expand to a permanent location in downtown Jamestown.
The IDA Board passed a due diligence resolution so staff can conduct an environmental analysis, and look into the requested tax breaks, and then hold a public hearing on the request. IDA Board is expected to act on the tax incentive request in August or September.
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