Entrance to Mason Industrial Park off Route 380 (Google Maps)
A project to increase the electrical capacity in Mason Industrial Park is moving forward.
The Jamestown Board of Public Utilities approved a $2 million contract with Dirt Worx Excavating LLC for the excavation, installation, backfilling, and surface/pavement restoration for a new 4,536 foot electrical duct bank from the Dow Street Substation to a new substation on Mason Drive.
The BPU received $6.6 million in Power Up New York Grant funds for the $7.5 million project. The local match is being covered through an agreement between the BPU, Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency, and Electrovaya with each entity paying $300,000 each.
BPU General Manager Kris Sellstrom said the former Bush Industries building in the Mason Industrial Park didn’t use a lot of electric when operational and the capacity needs to be increased to attract new business, “And, then down the street, the IDA has a 66 acre or so site, but it’s a fairly large site that they’ve been working on for a few years to get shovel ready. And, right now there’s basically no power to it. As well as down just down the street from that, the Serta Mattress facility is also vacant. So, we’ve got a very large load coming into Electrovaya, we’ve got two large buildings that currently don’t have anything today, but new industry seems to need more power than industry of the past, and then we have a large IDA shovel ready site.”
The upgrades will improve access for up to 12 MW of power to the site.
Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency CEO and Deputy County Executive of Economic Development Mark Geise informed the IDA Board Tuesday that there has been recent interest in the former Bush Industries, Serta Mattress, and Truck-Lite facilities.
Sellstrom said the project is estimated to be completed by the end of 2027.
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