ONONDAGA — Onondaga County recently awarded Green Hills Farms grant funding of nearly $500,000 to help pay for improvements to the grocery store in the Valley section of the town of Onondaga.

The $485,000 award will help pay for a façade, improvements to its entrance, signage, and lighting, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon said in announcing the funding on Oct. 27 at the small business located at 5933 South Salina St. in Onondaga. 

The Green Hills Farms funding represents the largest grant of a total Onondaga County investment of $559,000 in small businesses in the Nedrow area of the town of Onondaga.

That $559,000 will lead to $186,000 of private funding matching the investment, resulting in an influx of capital of about $750,000 as part of Onondaga County’s Main Street program, according to McMahon. 

“The county will be working with the Town [of Onondaga] and give the Town $363,000 and Green Hills will match with $121,000,” he added.

“When we went through the last 19 months, we really focused in on COVID, and we focused in on the public-health perspective of COVID. But we always knew there was going to be other impacts of the pandemic and what we’ve forgotten is how this pandemic impacted day-to-day [operations of] small businesses throughout the community and how it impacted Main Street,” McMahon said. 

He also noted how he would get feedback from Bud Kennedy, general manager at Green Hills Farms, and the leaders of other grocery-store chains during conference calls about the status of their operations. 

The funding for the grants comes from Onondaga County’s federal COVID-19 stimulus funding, he added. 

Additional Onondaga grant recipients

Besides Green Hills Farms, neighboring businesses will also benefit from the grant funding.

Ferris Motors, at 6901 S. Salina St., will use its $86,000 grant, which the business will match with $29,000, to pay for a retaining wall, new siding, paint, and fencing.

E.C.K. Tree & Outdoor Power Products, at 7000 South Salina St., will use its $56,000 grant for a new fascia and soffit (parts of a roof), commercial doors, paint, and a replacement of deteriorated pavement. E.C.K will provide a nearly $19,000 match.

EJ’s Auto at 6605 S. Salina St. will use a nearly $25,000 grant and its own match of more than $8,300 to replace the façade and doors on the business.

CNY Glass Block at 6704 S. Salina St. will receive a grant of more than $15,600 with its own match of more than $5,200 to replace two old planters and install new fencing.

Colonial Laundromat has plans for a sidewalk-replacement project with its grant of $12,000, which it will match with $4,000 of its money. 

“We challenged our partners at the local level and towns and villages to come up with plans … where we can support Main Street and support the businesses so that we can help revitalize different corridors, and the Town of Onondaga had a great plan,” McMahon said.