CORTLANDVILLE — Byrne Dairy has made the first move toward building a yogurt plant with a tourism and education center at the Finger Lakes East Business Park along State Route 13 in Cortland County.
The dairy manufacturer and distributor entered into an option agreement with the Cortland County Industrial Development Agency that gives it the chance to purchase the 127-acre business park in Cortlandville, it said today. Byrne Dairy will need to earn site-plan approval, land local incentives, and receive state funding assistance before it can move forward with its plans.
It could start construction on the new plant in the middle of 2013, if all of those pieces fall into place. The facility would be Byrne Dairy’s fourth Central New York manufacturing site, joining a fluid-milk plant, an ice-cream plant, and an Ultra Dairy plant in the Syracuse area.
The Cortland plant’s accompanying visitor center would focus on tourism and dairy education for families.
“Our vision is to create a destination for generations to experience by carefully planning the site to have visitor access for tourism and entertainment as well as training and educational opportunities,” Byrne Dairy President and CEO Carl Byrne said in a news release. “We want to build an environment that inspires and encourages learning along with attractions that utilize the site’s beautiful scenery and available land.”
Privately held Byrne Dairy also owns and operates 54 convenience stores in Central New York.
Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com