Bartlett Dairy to develop facility on 7-acre site at JFK airport

Bartlett Dairy & Food Service is taking over a vacant, city-owned 7.3-acre site at John F. Kennedy International Airport to build a $24 million food manufacturing and distribution facility.

The city’s Industrial Development Agency board is expected to approve the deal Tuesday, New York Daily News reported.

Bartlett will develop 56,000 square feet of the irregularly-shaped lot at the airport’s northeast end, called JFK North, which sits between the Nassau Expressway and Rockaway Boulevard.

The city didn’t disclose how much Bartlett is paying for the site, but documents show the company expects to receive about $14 million in tax abatements and exemptions, the newspaper reported.

Officials said the city’s Economic Development Corporation chose Bartlett Dairy in part because their 200-person workforce is largely from Brooklyn and Queens, and the company intends to add 50 full-time jobs. The company also agreed to use the services of minority- and women-owned businesses to help design and construct the facility.

Bartlett Dairy, a dairy manufacturing company, has facilities in Jamaica, Newark and Rochester and distributes milk and other products to groceries, schools and hotels throughout the city. The announcement of their move comes just months after the city’s last remaining dairy processing plant, Elmhurst Dairy, closed its doors in August. [NYDN] — Chava Gourarie