AMSTERDAM Amsterdam distributor Hill & Markes is considering relocating if efforts to expand the Florida Business Park are successful.
Situated in the Town of Amsterdam for more than 100 years, the family-owned company currently employs about 150 people, according to Andrea Packer, vice president for marketing at the family-owned company.
Hill & Markes started out distributing candy, ice cream and ice cream cones in 1906 and grew to add supplies for offices and for food service, healthcare, janitorial and packaging industries, according to the company's Web site.
Expansion plans are in the early stages and will hinge on the availability of land off state Route 5S the Montgomery County Industrial Development Agency is hoping to use to expand the Florida Business Park.
Montgomery County Economic Development Director Ken Rose said the town of Florida Planning Board is performing a State Environmental Quality Review as part of considering whether to re-zone about 137 acres of land off state Route 5S the county IDA seeks to use for its business park expansion. The land is currently listed as a commercial zone where distribution centers, like the Target facility just to the east, are not allowed.
The IDA is looking to get the new parcels zoned as Industrial Business Park. Once the SEQR review is complete, the Town Planning Board is expected to send a recommendation to the Florida Town Board, Rose said.
Packer said the company's last growth took place in 2004 when it expanded its warehouse at the current site on Edson Street. There is no more room there for expansion, and Packer said office space is growing tighter.
Packer said the business has other options being considered for relocation, but officials there want to maintain local staff and other features of the century-old operation.
"The business has been here over 100 years and we have a reputation and we have an amazing staff. We're very proud of our employees and we have a culture we're very proud of," Packer said. "We're a family-owned business and we try very hard to treat our staff as family. To move too far away we would lose very valuable people. The people make the business successful," Packer said.
If plans progress, the county IDA could extend a payment in lieu of taxes agreement to Hill & Markes and there is also revolving loan fund money available, Rose said. Rose said the overall project being considered is estimated at $11.1 million.
Early plans entail building a 100,000 square foot warehouse and a 15,000 square foot office building on a 20-acre parcel. The company's current setup in Amsterdam features a 77,000 square feet facility, Rose said.