Pictured is the Bush Industries Inc. sign outside the former manufacturing plant on Mason Drive.

While more than 200 people were laid off through the closure of Bush Industries, Chautauqua County officials insist there is interest in the facility and in the industrial park where it sits.

According to the New York State Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, Bush Industries laid off 237 people on April 30 from its location at One Mason Drive, in the town of Ellicott. The reason listed is “bankruptcy.”

The Post-Journal first reported the closure after speaking to a number of employees.

Later the eSolutions Furniture Group announced it was pursuing bankruptcy in a Canadian bankruptcy court, leading to the decision to end manufacturing activities at the Jamestown Bush Industries facility.

Bush Industries is located in the Mason Industrial Park. Also located in the park is the former Serta Mattress, which closed its doors last fall, causing 83 people to be laid off.

During Tuesday’s Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency Board of Directors meeting, IDA Chief Executive Officer Mark Geise said there is definitely interest in that industrial park.

“I wanted the (IDA) board to know that we are working with several local manufacturers that are looking to expand. There’s a couple of vacant buildings as you know in the Jamestown area, like Serta, Truck-Lite, and other spaces. There’s a lot of activity going on behind the scenes and we’re helping with that,” he said. “We’ve had a lot of conversations. I think you’re going to see some action here in the coming months with those buildings. I don’t think they’re going to sit there very long.”

The IDA has also been in the process of expanding the Mason Industrial Development Park.

There’s around 66 acres of land owned by the county IDA, with about half of it developable. In 2024, both the Chautauqua County Legislature and the county IDA approved spending $90,000 each to further develop the park.

The county has also been awarded grant funds for the expansion.

Tuesday, Geise said the expansion at the park is under way.

“The contractor has already started moving dirt there. I think they’re looking at July-ish to be done with stubbing in the road, water and sewer,” he said.

The county is also in the process of developing a 148-acre shovel-ready site in Ripley off of I-90. While work has yet to begin, it is expected to start shortly. S. St. George Enterprises was recently awarded a $5.1 million bid to do the work.

During the IDA meeting, County Executive PJ Wendel was in attendance and said that there’s already interest there.

“The Ripley project was a finalist for a Gatorade Zero (energy drink) producing factory. This isn’t even fully completed yet and it’s already being looked at,” he said.

Wendel added that Gaorade walked away due to the “business climate” in the state. “Nonetheless … the Ripley site is a lot more than what people realize,” he said.