DEVELOPMENT SERVICES

BDCC Location and Site Services: Site Selection, Development, Facilities Expansions and More

The BDCC is committed to helping businesses grow by helping you find the best facility possible. The BDCC helps businesses and entrepreneurs with the physical expansion resources required for growth in three main ways:

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2. Site Selection: Facility Finding, Purchase, Acquisition and Financing

Businesses looking to locate or relocate in the region often need help finding an appropriate facility or site. The BDCC can help with this process as well, as we did recently with Mocha Joe’s.

Pictured at right is Mocha Joe’s co-owner Pierre Capy in the recently purchased facility in downtown Brattleboro which is enabling Mocha Joe’s to consolidate their processing and warehousing operations that have not been colocated with their headquarters until now. BDCC aided in the process of this purchase of an existing facility based on understanding the client needs, and opportunities in the commercial real estate market.

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3. Tenant Space: From Startup to Fit-up

The BDCC owns and operates over 500,000 sf of commercial and industrial space with 85 tenants and over 400 employees. We can provide new businesses with space in one of our Brattleboro sites. We also work with our tenants who need to adapt or expand space in order to grow their businesses.

Pictured on the right is True North Granola, one of the BDCC tenants who have grown their business in the Cotton Mill building.

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To inquire about commercial or industrial space to rent, please contact propertymanager@brattleborodevelopment.com, and either Al Claussen, BDCC’s Real Estate Manager, or Owen Perry, BDCC’s Leasing & Business Support Administrator will be in touch.

To inquire about development services, please contact Adam Grinold, Executive Director, at agrinold@brattleborodevelopment.com

Recent BDCC Development Services Projects

BDCC Facilitates Complex Deals to Help Businesses Locate, Grow and Thrive in the Region

Long Falls Paperboard: In late October, 2018, Neenah Paper announced they would be closing their Brattleboro paper mill, a process that would result in the loss of 100 good-paying jobs in the region. The BDCC responded rapidly, initially by attempting to assist Neenah Paper’s operations and remain open. The company declined, only offering the alternative of a sale that could be successfully executed by December 31. The BDCC helped find this buyer in Long Falls Paperboard (LFP), and brought together all the parties necessary to complete such a sale in less than 60 days. This was possible through the establishment of a public-private partnership between the BDCC and LFP, allowing the BDCC to quickly purchase the paper mill and perform necessary environmental assessment and cleanup before selling the property to LFP. A US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Brownfields grant of $500,000 was secured by the BDCC in June, 2019 to complete this process. For more information about the Long Falls Paperboard plant, see the articles below.

• Making the Impossible Possible at Former Neenah Paper Mill
• Brattleboro Paper Company Sold, Jobs Saved
• Gov. Scott Welcomes Long Falls Paperboard
• BDCC Receives EPA Brownfields Funding

G.S. Precision: In 2017 G.S. Precision, a high-precision manufacturer of machine components, officially completed a $17 million expansion that had the effect of retaining 300 local jobs and bringing an additional 100 manufacturing jobs to the region. The project was a result of the cumulative efforts of many organizations and programs, with the BDCC and Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) leading the way. The BDCC was instrumental in creating a package of financing and incentives to help fund the $17 million project, which included  TD Bank and VEDA (Vermont Economic Development Authority) financing, a Community Development Block Grant, New Market Tax Credits, Windham County Economic Development Funding, and Vermont Employment Growth Incentives. For more information on the G.S. Precision expansion, see the articles below or visit the G.S. Precision project page linked above.

• G.S. Precision Breaks Ground on Expansion in Brattleboro
• BDCC Facilitates 17 Million Dollar Expansion at GS Precision
• MHIC Massachusetts Housing Finance Corporation 2016 Annual Report G.S. Precision project overview.

Chroma: Chroma is a local optical filter engineer and manufacturer that supplies lenses to industries across the world. In 2017, the company began a 40,000 square foot expansion costing roughly $20 million which is helping to retain the company’s 113 existing jobs as well as adding 26 new jobs to the region. Chroma is an employee owned (ESOP) business. This project was facilitated by the BDCC, the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, and the Town of Rockingham; the BDCC stepped in as a consultant for the project, facilitating local and state funding sources including the town of Rockingham, the Community Development Block Grant program, loans from the Vermont Economic Development Authority, the Windham County Economic Development Program, Vermont Employment Growth Incentives, and federal New Market Tax Credits. For more information on the Chroma expansion, see the articles below of visit the Chroma project page linked above.

• BDCC-backed Chroma expansion nearing completion
• State OKs $20 Million Dollar Chroma Expansion
• MHIC Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation 2017 Annual Report Chroma expansion overview (see p. 28/29).

Brooks House: Since 1871, The Brooks House has been a pillar of downtown Brattleboro, serving as both a venue for retail space on Main Street (on its first floor) as well as apartments and residential housing on the upper three stories. However, after a devastating fire in 2011 which rendered the building uninhabitable, significant investment was needed to secure the future of the property and restore that critical section of Brattleboro’s main downtown block. To help with the renovation, the BDCC assisted in securing private financing from a variety of banks as well as public financing in the form of New Market Tax Credits, a Community Development Block grant, Vermont Downtown Tax Credits, Vermont Economic Development Authority Loans, and Federal Rehabilitation Investment Tax Credits. For more information on the Brooks House project, please see the articles below or the Brooks House project page linked above.

• Brattleboro Reformer 2014 Feature on The Brooks House
• Brattleboro Reformer Brooks House Re-Opening
• Brooks House Financing Information

Commonwealth Dairy: In December 2016, yogurt manufacturer Commonwealth Dairy announced their intentions to go through with a $20 million dollar expansion of their facility that would bring over 50 new jobs to the region. Commonwealth began in Brattleboro less than ten years ago and grew quickly to over 100 employees. This new expansion represents remarkable growth for the company, and follows a previous 23,000 square foot expansion that added 34 jobs to the existing 110 person workforce. While Commonwealth considered expanding their Arizona facility, the company ultimately partnered with the BDCC to grow in Brattleboro instead, securing public financing from the Vermont Training Program, Vermont Employment Growth Incentives, a grant and tax stabilization from the town of Brattleboro, and a million dollars in funding from the BDCC-run Windham County Economic Development Program (WCEDP). For more information on the Commonwealth Dairy project, please see the press articles below or the project page linked above.

• $20 million Commonwealth Dairy Expansion Overview 
• State Commits over $2 million in Incentives to Expansion

Mocha Joe’s: Locally owned and operated Mocha Joe’s, known for its iconic downtown Café, is also a roasting company with over 100 wholesale customers throughout the Northeast, and a staff of 7. In April of 2018, Mocha Joe’s purchased the abandoned Cultural Intrigue warehouse in downtown Brattleboro for $1 million in order to expand their facilities. The BDCC helped to facilitate matching the available site with Mocha Joe’s desire to relocalize more of their company’s activities, and a $350,000 Windham County Economic Development Program loan. For more information on Mocha Joe’s Brattleboro expansion please see the content below.

• BDCC Facilitates Million Dollar Mocha Joe’s Expansion
• Mocha Joe’s Buys Cultural Intrigue Warehouse