Convalt Energy buys two Watertown buildings, starts moving equipment from Oregon

Craig Fox, Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
·2 min read

Apr. 28—WATERTOWN — Convalt Energy is purchasing two buildings that were once part of the city's industrial history and now will be used to store solar panel manufacturing equipment being transported from Oregon.

The two buildings — the original New York Air Brake building on Purdy Street and a part of the Black Clawson complex on Pearl Street — will be used for warehousing until the company's mammoth solar panel manufacturing plant in the town of Hounsfield is in operation.

David J. Zembiec, CEO of Jefferson County Economic Development, confirmed that the company will use both buildings for storage.

Equipment from a defunct solar panel plant in Oregon started arriving by truck on Monday. More than 200 trucks are hauling the equipment from a former SunPower Corp. factory in Oregon.

"They started rolling in," Mr. Zembiec said. "They expected them to come in on Tuesday and they started coming in on Monday."

The former Black Clawson building at 511 Pearl St., most recently used by a metal scrap company, is a 70,000-square-foot warehouse, while the Air Brake structure, at 100 Purdy St., is currently 52,000 square feet.

Hari Achuthan, CEO and founder of Convalt, plans to invest $4 million to renovate the Air Brake structure, which needs a new roof and some walls. It will be expanded into 100,000 square feet of space, Mr. Zembiec said.

The back section of the Air Brake building, which once manufactured tanks during World War II, is still used by the Living Waters Fellowship Church.

The company is expected to receive site plan approval next month for its 330,000-square-foot plant near the Watertown International Airport on Route 12F.

Convalt wants to break ground by June 1.

The company hopes to receive a $300,000 bridge gap loan for the project from the Watertown Local Development Corp. The company needs $1,050,000 in bridge gap financing it plans to use as working capital to transport the equipment from Oregon.

In addition to the WLDC, the Jefferson County Industrial Development Agency and the Sackets Harbor Local Development Corp. will participate in the bridge gap funding.