[By Matt Freeze]
OWEGO — The Tioga County IDA recently discussed a potential deal for a few large parcels located between Crown Cork and Seal and State Route 17, which could pave the way for a new industrial-scale business to come into the Town of Nichols.
In particular, the IDA board discussed a 49-acre parcel with interest in selling, along with an adjacent 10-plus-acre parcel and an 18.4-acre parcel along Depot Road, currently owned by Lounsberry Land Management.
Once combined, the land would offer about 80 contiguous acres for development, with nearby highway access alongside Crown Cork and Seal, Best Buy, and the FedEx distribution center.
A GIS view of parcels potentially involved with an IDA purchase, which board members hope could be the future site of an industrial development project. The large building on the right is Crown Cork and Seal, with State Route 17 along the left side of the frame. The red-outlined parcel would be the largest acquisition, but two smaller road-front parcels nearby would also be required for appropriate industrial access. (Regrid.com screenshot)
However, IDA officials said the purchase of that land wouldn’t be beneficial for industrial development unless two smaller, oddly shaped parcels with road frontage could also be purchased to offer easier access for tractor-trailers.
IDA Chair Jon Ward said there may be potential interest in those parcels, but said one landowner would probably only be open to selling if the owner of the other nearby parcel also sold.
One of those properties is a two-acre triangular plot between Depot Road and Sherwood Drive.
The other is a 0.9-acre slice along Sherwood Road.
“If you had these, you could really make some inroads for access,” Ward said.
County Economic Development and Planning Director Brittany Woodburn said the process wouldn’t be quick.
The board agreed that it was best to keep up communication with landowners to see if deals could be reached.
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