Grafton company breaks ground on production facility, store

Springfield Regional Development Corp. has announced that it has received financing of $877,504 from the Vermont Economic Development Authority to construct a 6,000-square-foot building in Windsor’s Artisans Park, of Route 5.

The new facility will be the home of Blake Hill Farm Products Inc. as the production facility for Blake Hill Preserves’ marmalades, conserves, preserves and chutneys. There also will be a small retail store in the completed space.

Blake Hill Preserves was formed in 2009 by Vicky Allard and Joe Hanglin and has operated in Grafton  since that time. The company produces a variety of products utilizing sustainably grown fruits and vegetables with no artificial ingredients. Blake Hill’s jars can be found in stores throughout the United States and, most recently, in Canada.

Allard said, “The new facility will enable us to continue to expand production to meet customer demand, and our new retail store will provide visitors to Artisans Park with the opportunity to enjoy Blake Hill’s entire range of products, sample new varieties including seasonal fresh batch, farm-to-jar preserves, and provide hard-to-find specialty preserve making equipment for the homemade jam maker.” She added that, within three years, the company expects to have 12 employees.

SRDC Executive Director Bob Flint said that Blake Hill was a natural addition to Artisans Park. “It has been exciting to see the business and visitor growth in the park and Blake Hill will certainly add to this,” Flint said. This will be the 2nd building that SRDC has built in the park in recent years. The Vermont Farmstead Cheese facility is also owned by SRDC, through financing provided by VEDA. Flint said that the partnership between SRDC, VEDA and Great Bear Realty is what has allowed these projects to move forward.

Ground has been broken on the construction project with the intent that the facility be operational in early summer.