New food incubator proposed for former firehouse in Peekskill

The city of Peekskill is taking a step to help the food and beverage industry by revamping its old Centennial Hose Municipal Fire Station into a state-of-the-art culinary incubator.

The Peekskill Firehouse Kitchen Incubator was proposed earlier this year, as a joint project among the Peekskill Industrial Development Agency (IDA), Peekskill Facilities Development Corp. (PFDC) and the Westchester County Office of Economic Development. The city council passed a resolution of support for the project in May and now, the Peekskill IDA has been discussing final plans for the space.

The former firehouse totals 8,000 square feet, including a 2,400-square-foot, two-bay garage. After the adaptive reuse conversion is completed, the 4,500-square-foot commercial kitchen portion of the building would house five fully equipped and licensed commercial kitchens, complete with stations for prep, storage, packaging, shipping and receiving, along with office space.

In addition to the garage, the property has a parking area that fits 40 cars, providing ample space for pickups and drop-offs of large orders and inventory, in addition to planned food truck cleaning and washing facilities.

“Support facilities” in the incubator would include entrepreneurship programming and workforce skills development, emphasizing food-business-oriented training and work-and-learn training.

The project would be funded by an American Rescue Plan Act Economic Adjustment Assistance grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, which the PFDC plans to apply for by the end of the year. The EDA grants are intended to support economic development in the region, generally funding at least 80% of any accepted project. The PDFC would utilize the building”™s value as the grant”™s 20% match, once it is able to accept the deed from the city upon approval of the grant. The donation of the building from the county has been valued at $900,000.

The PFDC would own the incubator site, structure and equipment, but plans to select a qualified nonprofit to operate it, with input from the other municipal entities involved with the project. The operator would enter a triple-net facility lease and operating agreement with the PDFC.

Once the incubator is up and running, it would employ a staff of at least five, including a director, two kitchen facilities managers, an office manager and a yet unknown number of part-time culinary associates.­

Those businesses using the kitchens would be charged rental fees on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, based on how long they choose to occupy the space. There may be up to three shifts available each day. Other possible revenue streams for the project include storage space rental, training service fees, delivery fees, culinary education classes, staff support fees, food truck cleaning and parking fees and special event opportunities.

The city cited hardships from the Covid-19 pandemic as key to the need for a project like this, especially considering the ways in which it hit the hospitality and restaurant industries. It reported a 43% decline in visitor spending, totaling over $800 million lost in 2020. Food and restaurant revenues were down more than 47% from 2019 to 2020, with employment in the sector down roughly 37%. It also cited the shutdown of Indian Point and the resultant loss of more than 1,000 jobs in the region as spurring a need for workforce development and business-boosting programs like the incubator.

In addition to acting as an entrepreneurial education resource and supportive environment, the kitchen would benefit food entrepreneurs by removing the barrier of having to lease or purchase a kitchen facility at market rate, allowing them to grow at their ventures at their own pace.

Jason Angell, executive director of the Ecological Citizen”™s Project, said in a letter to Peekskill Mayor Andre Rainey that the incubator “would be an important customer for a local farm network,” bolstering local agriculture and food supply systems.

The city received 36 responses of interest in utilizing the space when it initially sought to gauge interest through an online survey. Respondents expressed a need for cooking and assembly space, cold and freezer storage, catering space and food truck restocking facilities. They identified products like baked goods, breads, sauces, pickles, juices, candy and frozen desserts as those they would be most interested in making in the space.

Two participants in Westchester”™s Launch1000 entrepreneurship program, Petra Pasquina of Chewmami and Samantha Udondem, a baker, submitted letters to the county”™s Office of Economic Development to express their own interests in utilizing the kitchens.

“It can serve as a hub for culinary enthusiasts and entrepreneurs to develop and actualize their business ideas, forge new partnerships, and drive economic growth to local families and (the) county as a whole,” Udondem wrote. “Through the food incubator space, Westchester County can extend a helping hand to those within the industry who desire to continue in the field through new and creative service offerings and spin-offs.”

The IDA also discussed during its October meeting the possibility of collaborations with educational entities like Westchester Community College and Peekskill”™s city schools to provide workforce programming. Hudson Hospitality Group, owned by Louie Lanza, was also referenced at the meeting for its interest in collaborating with the incubator.

The construction period is anticipated to be one year long, beginning in 2022. Joseph Thompson Architect, a firm that has worked on a number of projects around Peekskill including the Peekskill Plaza and several buildings along South Division Street, is currently working on plans for the building”™s conversion.

Plans for the incubator are contingent on U.S. EDA grant approval.