Seeking a break to expand
With a tax incentive, producer of equipment for greenhouses would add jobs in Wheatfield
WHEATFIELD — A company that produces hydroponic equipment for greenhouses is seeking to build a larger plant with help from a tax break from the Niagara County Industrial Development Agency.
Christopher D. Casacci, owner of Sunlight Solutions, is currently leasing space in an IDA-owned incubator building on Niagara Falls Boulevard. He wants to construct a 7,500-square-foot plant at Lockport and Walmore roads.
The $457,500 project would add six jobs to the company’s current 18- person payroll within two years, according to its IDA application.
A public hearing on the 15-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes, or PILOT, arrangement, is set for 4:30 p. m. Nov. 10 in the IDA offices. The IDA board is expected to vote on the deal Nov. 18.
“We’re growing at the seams. We don’t have enough office space,” Casacci said. “Also, our rent rate [at the incubator] would be more than our mortgage if we moved.”
Casacci, an East Amherst resident, started his company in 2003 in North Tonawanda. It moved to what was then the Prime Outlets Mall for a year before shifting to Wheatfield.
The company’s objective is to supply residential growers hydroponic equipment for greenhouses. Its equipment can be used in the production of kosher food or by cancer patients to grow their own pesticide- free food.
Other consumers simply like to grow their own organic produce, and there are laboratories that need the indoor growing equipment for experiments.
“It’s kind of a niche market. We ship nationally,” Casacci said.
Sunlight Solutions now has about $2 million in annual sales. Besides its equipment assembly and shipping, it carries plant food, lighting systems and gardening equipment.
Another applicant at last week’s IDA meeting was Casacci’s mother, Dr. Kathleen M. Casacci, a dentist.
Her practice, Wheatfield Family Dentistry, has been operating for 15 years. She seeks to move from 3571 Niagara Falls Blvd. to a building she will buy at 3349 Niagara Falls Blvd.
The latter building, according to IDA Assistant Director Lawrence D. Witul, is a former kennel next to a shooting club. It would be converted into a 2,500-square-foot dental office, with an additional 1,500 square feet available for rental to another tenant.
The project will cost $690,500, and a 10-year PILOT is being sought. The IDA board did not schedule a public hearing because some members sought more information, and the applicant was not on hand.
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