Parry Teasdale is reporting for The Columbia Paper Ginsberg's Foods has paid more than $339,000 for a 33-acre parcel on Routes 66 in the towns of Claverack and Ghent. The land was the proposed site for a planned $14 million expansion of the food service company, three years ago in August 2015. The original purchase price was one dollar, but conditions attached to the deal dictated that if the company's expansion project was not completed in three years it would pay the full appraised value, plus interest at seven percent per year. The project did not proceed, and last week the company paid Columbia Economic Development Corporation for the property. CEDC president and CEO F. Michael Tucker confirmed that with interest the full cost of the property was more than $339,000. He also confirmed the company has been paying the property taxes for the land since the original $1 transfer was concluded. The property includes 27 acres in the town of Ghent and seven acres in the town of Claverack. The most recent annual tax bill totaled more than $5,700. Ginsberg's Chief Executive Officer, David Ginsberg, said his company is “exploring a number of possibilities” for the site but said he was “not at liberty” to discuss them. Tucker has suggested the land might be suitable for a solar farm that would generate clean-source electricity for local customers. Read the full story in The Columbia Paper.