Housing project, factory to get state grants

By Kathleen Barran / The Citizen

Thursday, August 7, 2008 11:56 AM EDT

The state Division of Housing and Community Renewal on Wednesday announced $12.3 million in Community Revitalization Grants for central New York, including funding for projects in Sterling and Ira.
Cayuga County beneficiaries include the town of Sterling Housing Rehabilitation Program and Nutrition Bars Confectioners, LLC, in Ira.

Almost half of Sterling's population of 3,432 is made up of low- to moderate-income residents. The town has a waiting list of 67 income-eligible households living in severely substandard housing and can participate in the housing rehabilitation program.

The town has requested $400,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds to rehabilitate 15 owner-occupied, severely substandard housing units located throughout the town and benefiting 32 low- and moderate-income residents.

Average cost of rehabilitation is $21,092 per unit, including lead inspection and Green building requirements, with a cap of $25,000 per unit.

Assistance will be in the form of a 100 percent deferred payment loan with a five-year regulatory term.

Nutrition Bars Confectioners will receive $375,000 to assist in a $1.5 million economic development project. Community development grant funds will be used to buy new machinery and equipment associated with the start-up of its new production line.

Nutrition Bar Confectioners has secured an agreement to supply a large company with 10 million bars a year for the next three years.

The project will create 34 new full-time jobs, with 27 offered to low- and moderate-income people.

Lenny Schmidt, his two brothers, and his father, Mark Schmidt, chief executive officer of the company, resurrected a family business begun by their grandfather in the late 1970s, known as Increda-Meal Inc.

They had packaged nutrition bars but sold the business in 2002 while holding onto the building.

When the buyers went bankrupt, his grandfather decided to restart the company.

“We're pretty optimistic that we will receive the grant money within the next month or so,” Lenny Schmidt said.

He mentioned a few of his past and present customers, including Slim Fast, Jenny Craig, General Mills and Quaker.

Schmidt said the companies send the ingredients and materials for the packaging and his company makes the bars, wraps them, and ships them to clients.

Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311, ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net

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