Arc Herkimer to break ground on event center

LITTLE FALLS, N.Y. — Arc Herkimer will break ground this spring on its Kucerak Event Center at its Mohawk Valley Golf and Event Center at 6069 State Route 5 in Little Falls.

The agency planned to open project bids on March 18 and will host a ground-breaking ceremony on April 1 — two years to the day after it took ownership of the former Mohawk Valley Country Club.

“We are cautiously optimistic that materials will flow and labor will be there,” Arc Herkimer President and CEO Kevin Crosley says. He hopes the event center will open in the fourth quarter of this year.

 The agency is working with Bonacci Architects on the building design, and Crosley expects the project will cost about $2 million to build. Funding comes from a $2 million gift from the Kucerak Family Limited Partnership.

The building will replace a 40-by-75-foot event tent that, in turn, replaced the original country club building and restaurant that burned down in 2017. While the tent was suitable for hosting events in warmer months, Crosley says there is a real need for a four-season event center in the area.

“The need we see is vast,” he contends. “We feel that we can compete extremely well with a quality facility.” Crosley adds that the view from the location just can’t be beat.

The two-story, 6,600-square-foot building will feature bathrooms, a coat closet, a dining area that can seat 200 people, a bar, a full kitchen, and storage areas. The second floor will hold a bridal suite, where wedding parties can relax and get ready for their event. 

The center will be equipped to host a variety of events from weddings to class reunions, bridal and baby showers, business meetings, and, of course, golf tournaments, Crosley says. “We want to make it available to a diverse group of patrons.” His plan is for the Mohawk Valley Golf and Event Center to be the most inclusive public place where everyone is welcome.

Arc Herkimer acquired the property on April 1, 2020. While operating a golf course and event center is not something an agency such as Arc Herkimer would traditionally do, it’s become a gem for the agency, which serves more than 600 people with disabilities annually.

“We carry ourselves as a business with a social mission,” Crosley explains.

Last year, 59 people served by the agency were either employed at the center or received some type of day services there through one of the many clinics hosted onsite, Crosley says.

With the new event center, he expects the impact to be even greater. Along with revenue from events, the center will provide employment for even more people with disabilities.

“It will be transformational for the agency,” he says.

The agency has already transformed the former country club over the past two years. Arc Herkimer has grown the membership from 75 when it took over to more than 300 as of 2021, Crosley says. Arc Herkimer has made a number of improvements to the 160-acre property, as well as added new equipment and staff.

Along with an 18-hole golf course, the site is also home to the Tin Cup Tavern & Grille clubhouse.

The Herkimer County Chapter of NYSARC, Inc., which does business as Arc Herkimer, has seven divisions and operates more than 40 sites around Herkimer County. The agency employs 344 people.

Some of its other business sites include the Copper Café that will open in Ilion later this spring and the Arc Herkimer Goods Store in Herkimer.