By LINDA KELLETT

C-S-E News Staff

CANAJOHARIE — Gleaming in the dazzling summer sunlight, the sprawling complex long housing the Beech-Nut Nutrition Corp.’s production and warehouse facilities loomed larger than life early this week. Encompassing 27 acres along the New York State Thruway, the facility’s 851,000 square feet lay dormant, slumbering after a century of hard toil.

But the cavernous complex isn’t ready for the wrecking ball yet.

Beech-Nut employees wielding trimmers and rakes were in evidence early this month, pruning shrubs and maintaining the grounds; and a large yellow sign advertising the sale of the facility commanded a prominent place on the Church Street lawn.

Despite recent speculation that the company, which relocated to a new facility in the Florida Industrial Park last year, would seek an assessment reduction or raze the buildings to lower their local property tax liability, Beech-Nut President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Schneider late last month said it’s the intention of the company to be a “good corporate citizen.”

Company officials have looked at the potential use of the Canajoharie facility as warehouse space, he said; and while one of the alternative options for the property includes the demolition of buildings and the donation of the property to the village, Schneider said efforts to find a buyer for the site continue.

Schneider said, “We’re still trying the option to sell. The best thing for Canajoharie would be to find an occupant for [the facility] to put it to productive use.”

Schneider said the company is working with Ken Rose, the director of the Montgomery County Industrial Development Agency and the county department of Economic Development and Planning, and Mayor Francis Avery, who said there are good communications and relations between the two entities.

Following a late-May meeting with Schneider, Avery said, “We have had a very cordial conversation. Beech-Nut is definitely sensitive to our needs and desires, and they’re working hard to find a buyer that’s compatible not only to their needs but the village’s needs. They’re also sensitive to the position of the facility in the village’s center.”

He said the village’s role is to address prospective buyers’ questions about village infrastructure and the like, bringing in the Public Works superintendent or supervisors of the water and sewer plants, for example.

“We make all information available immediately,” Avery said. “We try to be very cooperative.’

In order to aggressively market the property, company officials in recent months contracted with the Pyramid Brokerage Co., which is partnered with Cushman & Wakefield and is the largest commercial real estate company in upstate New York.

That’s according to Pyramid sales agent Chris Westfall, who works out of the Syracuse office. Last week, he said Beech-Nut officials “have a very serious interest in the community and finding a ‘right buyer/use’ for the property. Beech-Nut has been part of the town for 100 years. They don’t want to leave a mess behind. They want to leave something of value for the town.”

The company originated in 1891 when Raymond P. and Walter H. Lipe, John and David Zieley, and Bartlett Arkell launched The Imperial Packing Co., where the production of smoked hams and bacon took place. Before the end of that decade, the company, then owned by Arkell, re-formed as the Beech-Nut Packing Co. In the years that followed, the company manufactured a variety of food products along with its line of baby and toddler foods.

Production of the Beech-Nut Nutrition Corp.’s line of infant-food products continues today. It currently is a subsidiary of the Hero Group of Lenzburg, Switzerland.

In addition to the potential use of the Canajoharie facility as a warehouse, Westfall said the company has received inquiries from a retail developer interested in developing the site as an outlet mall or shopping mall experience, something along the lines of LL Bean’s outlet store in Freeport, Maine.

He said the company is open to all ideas as long as the end result is positive for the community.

Although older and outdated parts of the facility are harder to save, they could potentially be demolished for green space. He said the company is also willing to subdivide the property.

“We’re having quite a lot of activity,” Westfall said. “There’s a lot of interest in the facility, and we’re trying to get solid commitments from people.”

As part of Pyramid’s marketing campaign, Westfall said targeted e-mails have been broadcast; and the company has made contacts with companies at home and abroad, in places like Germany and China. The property is also being marketed on the Internet and through social and business media connections, he said.

There’s no asking price, per se. Westfall said there’s an assessed value and any serious offers to purchase are going to be judged based on the impact on the community.

Interested parties can contact Westfall by calling (315) 445-1030 or by e-mailing him at cwestfall@pyramidbrokerage.com.