A wedding venue in the southern end of Chautauqua County is being purchased by new owners with assistance from the county Industrial Development Agency.

During Tuesday’s IDA meeting, the Board of Directors unanimously approved a $140,000 loan to Ivory Acres Weddings, LLC in their attempt to purchase Ivory Acres in Frewsburg.

Ivory Acres is a barn wedding and event venue on 191 Ivory St., which was previously a dairy farm. John and Kelsey Volpe bought the property in 2017 and opened it as an event venue a year later.

According to IDA officials, the Volpes would like to retire and sell the business to Cole and Rachel Smith, who would like to continue to use the property as a wedding and event venue. The sale of the property is set at $400,000. Along with the IDA, the Smiths are getting a bank loan and using some of their own funding. The sale is contingent upon the bank financing. A contract is in place.

Carol Rasmussen with the county IDA said the Smiths would like to do some renovations to the property and possibly build cabins on the property.

“It provides a venue for Chautauqua County and it also brings visitors from outside Chautauqua County. Also, the vendors in Chautauqua County are hired to present the events,” she said.

Mark Geise, county IDA director and chief executive officer, noted this project builds on the county’s tourism base.

“We are pleased to support the transfer of ownership of Ivory Acres to the Smiths, ensuring it will continue to operate and serve the public as a beautiful and viable local wedding destination with potential for future development at the site,” he said.

The term of the IDA loan is for 20 years at 4% interest.