Ansonia’s Farrel Corp. will receive a $1.75 million loan from the state to help build its new headquarters in the Fountain Lake industrial park.
The loan comes from the State Bond Commission, and will be provided at a 2 percent interest rate over 10 years.
But the loan will be forgiven if the company meets the job retention and creation goals, according to a prepared statement announcing the loan from state Rep. Linda M. Gentile, state Senator Joseph J. Crisco, Jr., and Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti.
The company will retain 79 jobs and create five new jobs, the statement said.
The State Bond Commission approved the loan at its meeting in Hartford last month.
The company has been based in Ansonia for more than 150 years.
But its downtown headquarters — in more than 10 acres of buildings straddling the north end of Main Street — have sat mostly vacant for years.
Last year the company, now owned by a conglomerate based in Germany and renamed Farrel-Pomini, announced plans to move to a new facility in either Oxford or Ansonia.
In February, the company said it would build a headquarters in the Fountain Lake development if the city put up $1 million to build an access road off Birmingham Boulevard into the site. Aldermen approved the deal unanimously.
Click here to read more.
City officials said they expect to get grants to pay for the road, but as of Tuesday had not yet heard back about whether those funds will be forthcoming.
Even if the grant applications are rejected, the city will remain committed to the road work.
In the prepared statement announcing the $1.75 million loan, Gentile thanked Gov. Dannel Malloy, who controls the State Bond Commission, for “for his continued commitment to manufacturing in the Naugatuck Valley.”
“He understands the importance of this once very vibrant industry and appreciates not only the economic impact of maintaining this company in our community, but also the historical significance of keeping this industry where its origin is,” Gentile said. “I would also like to thank the mayor and his economic development staff, and in particular Sheila O’Malley, for their commitment to economic development retention and expansion for the city.”
“Keeping Farrell in Ansonia means retaining and creating jobs in the Naugatuck Valley,” Crisco said. “An expanding Farrell Corporation is good for Ansonia and good for the future of manufacturing in Connecticut. I want to thank the Mayor, Rep. Gentile and the State Bond Commission for their collaboration on this project.”
Cassetti thanked Gentile and Crisco for helping Farrel get the loan.
“This has been a real team effort and we are thankful for their help,” Cassetti said in the statement.
Sheila O’Malley, the city’s director of economic development, echoed Cassetti’s sentiments.
“The State of Connecticut, the City of Ansonia and the federal government have teamed up to make this a reality,” O’Malley said. “We are saving jobs and retaining a 160-year-old company in our city. It can’t work without a real partnership.”
