CHESTER – C&S Wholesale Grocers has received a $1.35 million financial boost from the state’s Empire State Development Corporation as it expands its Chester distribution center.  The funding, announced Monday, will be used for reimbursement of a portion of real estate improvements, and machinery and equipment and expenditures.

C&S is expanding its current facilities from 250,000 square feet to 600,000 SF.

Town of Chester Supervisor Steven Neuhaus said the funding is a boost for the project.

“Any time you can secure monies, which are very difficult to come to anywhere north of New York City, it’s a great success,” he said. “C&S has been a wonderful, wonderful neighbor in Chester. They are always there for us. They pay decent jobs. In this economy, they are probably one of the only companies in the Hudson Valley that are hiring and putting people to work.”

In the Chester operation, the seventh in New York, 285 jobs will be retains and 445 new ones will be created.

“When a company like C&S reinvests in New York State, it is a reflection of the easy market access and skilled and talented workforce the Mid-Hudson region has to offer,” said Mid-Hudson Regional ESD Director Susan Jaffe.