Love’s Travel Plaza may be open by this spring. Photo by Roger Coda

By David Prenatt

editorial@

westfieldrepublican.com

Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores, located at the Ripley exit of I-90, is ready to open for business. However, there is potential for further development at the “Gateway to New York.”

The Travel Center has opened for business, with the official grand opening date to be announced.

The opening represents the culmination of a process that began in December of 2019 when representatives of Love’s presented plans for the center to the Ripley Planning Board and Town Council.

The idea for a Gateway Center at this location, however had been proposed even before that. Then-County Executive George Borrello presented plans to area stakeholders following a detailed market analysis and conceptual plan had been developed by the county of what a Gateway Center would look like at that general location.

Plans for the center were disrupted by the pandemic, but it has by no means been forgotten.

“We were really excited about it and then COVID hit,” said County of Chautauqua Industrial Development (CCIDA) Chief Executive Officer, Mark Geise. “It is still on our drawing board. We are just going to keep moving ahead and trying to que things up.”

Geise said the construction of Love’s Travel Stop opens the door to further development because the sewer and water lines of the Town of Ripley have been extended to that location.

“Without sewer and water, the basic infrastructure, it is nearly impossible to get developers interested in an area,” he said. He noted that a Host Community Agreement (HCA) between Love’s and the Town of Ripley will help pay for the water and sewer development.

On Feb 11, Ripley town council members passed a resolution to enter into a HCA with Love’s. Ripley Supervisor Doug Bowen introduced the resolution to council members, saying that he had approached the Love Corporation and asked them to deviate from their regular practice of paying direct taxes.

Instead, Bowen said, a Host Community Agreement with the town will allow tax revenue to be channeled into the town’s water/sewer projects.

Under the negotiated HCA, Bowen said, it was agreed that Love’s would pay 85% of the total tax levy through a PILOT agreement with the CCIDA, and more than $150,000, for 20 years, going to the town in the form of a host agreement. “It will go straight into the water/sewer department,” Bowen said.

Geise said when he first spoke to representatives of Love’s about a travel stop, they were amazed that the land on Shortman Road, where the former Colonial Restaurant and Hotel buildings were located, had not been developed. “For people coming into New York, it’s such a visible location with an easy-on, easy-off exit,” he said. “Love’s was thrilled with the location.”

Caitlin Campbell, media relations specialist for Love’s, agrees with Geise. “Love’s places locations in areas that are easy to access for its customers, and that makes the location in Ripley a great fit for us,” she said.

Campbell went on to say that the travel center includes a Mobile to Go Zone with the latest electronics, a dog park, food made fresh daily, a Hardee’s Restaurant, a Speedco for professional truck drivers (to open at a later date), a CAT scale, showers and laundry. “The location will add about 95 jobs to the community,” she said.

Geise said that having Love’s Travel Stop there will encourage further development. “Having the travel stop at this location shows activity and speaks well about New York and Chautauqua County,” he said. “Having Love’s there will certainly increase our chances of getting a Gateway Center, not to mention other development, nearby.”

As far as continuing to develop the area into a Gateway Center, Geise said the next step is to engage a prospective private sector owner/operator. “I am quite sure that this is not a facility that the County wants to own or manage,” he said.

If the county is successful in this endeavor, the next step would be to secure funding, probably in the form of grants, to acquire the land. “Once we have that done, we can take it to the next level, which would be to engage a developer, and then seek the funding to get it built” he said. “None of this is easy,” Geise said, “especially in the COVID environment we’re operating in.”