Publication select ▼
UTICA — During the Utica City Council meeting Oct. 14, council members unanimously rejected a letter of intention from Zuniga Cement Construction Inc. to purchase 22 city-owned acres on Chapoton Street that were part of the former packing plant’s property.
Zuniga Cement Construction Inc. is based in Warren at 22500 Ryan Road and provides cement construction services. The purpose of their purchase would be to install a concrete crusher for the business.
“We also plan to use the property to store additional aggregates and materials for our use,” Tomas Zuniga, a representative with Zuniga Cement Construction Inc., said in a letter of intention to the council.
The city listed the property for $450,000, and the business was offering $375,000.
Utica Mayor Gus Calandrino expressed concerns on whether this business was a good fit for the area.
“I know we’ve talked a lot about revisioning our downtown and what purpose that property could serve,” Calandrino said.
“This is our last parcel of undeveloped land in the city,” Calandrino said. “I think we need to be patient and deliberate about making any decisions for that parcel, and allowing a cement construction company really is not going to transform that area the way I envision it, and I believe the way most of us on council feel as well.”
Council member Joel DeVriendt echoed Calandrino’s concerns about the project.
“So, I want to stress more on the side of the future of Utica,” DeVriendt said. “I think the use of that property is critical to how this city is going to evolve in the future. I’d like Utica to be a destination, and a concrete crushing plant is not really going to be attractive for that.”
Other City Council members, including Lou Backus, expressed concerns about potential noise and dust, among other issues, that could come from the proposed development.
“I’m in that business, concrete business,” Backus said. “I know I’ve been to several crushing plants. They’re loud, very dusty. Not only that, but they bring all the dust out of the driveway onto the roads. I mean, they’re continuously cleaning their driveways and roads just to keep the dust down. So, I don’t think it’d be a great fit for us at all.”
Zuniga Cement Construction Inc. couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
For more information, visit cityofutica.org.
