Village of Canajoharie
Village of Canajoharie, Montgomery County, NY
EDR worked closely with the County and the Village to envision the Exit 29 Redevelopment Project focusing on the reuse of the 26.9-acre former Beech-Nut food processing plant Brownfield site at Exit 29 of the NYS Thruway. Although they relocated to a new facility in 2011, Beechnut was founded in Canajoharie in 1891 and was the largest employer in the area for more than a century. As part of this project, EDR prepared a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) on behalf of the Montgomery County Business Development Center and other aspects of facilitating redevelopment interest of the site. In addition to the RFEI, EDR also prepared a future Request for Proposals (RFP) from qualified developers anticipated to be available later this year or early 2019. The County and the Village worked as partners with EDR to identify a preferred redevelopment plan for the site, possibly including mixed-use development and other sites features such as open space, trails, and civic areas. EDR also provided land use planning and zoning services to the Village to enable the development of future uses through consistency with their Comprehensive Plan (originally prepared by EDR) and possible amendments to the Village Zoning Ordinance and other land use regulations.
In 2016, EDR participated in the American Architecture Foundation Sustainable Cities Design Academy in an attempt to assist Village and County officials to come up with potential ideas on how to redevelop this abandoned property that dominates the Village. Prior to this, EDR collaborated with the Village Planning Board to develop its Comprehensive Plan. EDR assisted in developing a vision statement, establishing goals and objectives, identifying its cultural and environmental resources, assessing its major transportation systems, and harnessing opportunities for future growth. EDR also worked with the Village to implement specific plan recommendations for amendments to their zoning code; and, as a result, the Village adopted a new site plan review law and a newly proposed form-based overlay district.