OBSERVER Photo by Jo Ward The new freezer facility is expected to be located at Bennett Road and Williams Street in the town of Dunkirk.

It appears the new freezer warehouse that was originally slated for the city of Dunkirk is poised to go on the at Bennett Road and Williams Street in the town of Dunkirk. The warehouse, which will assist with the Wells ice cream $85 million expansion, will bring at least 50 new jobs to the area.

“We are working to get it built in the town of Dunkirk,” state Sen. George Borrello told the OBSERVER this week. “Whatever state issues come up we’re ready to face it and we’re really confident the project will move forward.”

Borrello attended a Zoning Board of Appeals meeting in the town last Thursday to speak on behalf of the project which was going for two variances — a height variance and a slight change in zoning. Both were approved. Borrello said he hopes to see the project breaking ground later in the year.

At this time the company is unknown and, according to town of Dunkirk Supervisor Richard Purol, it’s up to the firm to make the announcement.

“They came for a variance for the property and that went through,” he said. “Now we have to get their stuff for a site plan and we’ll have a site plan meeting sometime this month. It’s going to bring jobs and that’s a good thing and there’s enough room for them to expand if things work out good for them.”

When asked around why the project left the city one source close to the negotiations said the city site was not “economically feasible at this time.”

In 2018, Roberts Road Freezer, LLC purchased about 10 acres of land from the county to build a 100,000-foot freezer facility. The company, which was at time was doing business with Fieldbrook Foods, left an option open for them to purchase another three parcels of land for $1 in the next six years.

During the County Legislature meeting on Jan. 27, lawmakers agreed to modify the resolution to allow the company to purchase an additional 7.5 acres.