This building is the first licensed black walnut processing facility in New York State. Black walnut processing happens on the first floor and on the second floor is a 1 bedroom / 1 bath residential space managed through Airbnb. Each floor is just 600 ft2. The building design was inspired by the tiny house movement which is itself driven by intentional down-sizing and simplification with limited space being a feature, not a bug. Black walnut shelling, sorting and packaging happening on the first floor is by definition small-scale. Our process is designed to fit our space, not vice-versa. The upstairs residence is intended to be welcoming, comfortable and to encourage connection with the outdoors. This building is intended to accent, not overwhelm, our property. At Black Squirrel Farms, we’re working to develop a landscape, not a building.
This building was completed in Q4 2021 and built by Russell Builders of Geneva, NY.
The two floors are atmospherically isolated from each other and individually vented. The HVAC approach is ductless. The wraparound patio is comparatively large to support outdoor nutshell processing. The first-floor staff restroom has its own door, is atmospherically isolated from the processing floor and separately vented (left door on the building rear view). We use town water. The rear view of the building below shows how we moved the stairway to the second floor outdoors; each floor has unique access, another design aspect which lets our building serve as two small buildings in one. If black walnut processing can be done here, supported by this building, it can be done anywhere.
Black Squirrel Farms 