Genesee County Economic Development Focus Group Development of an Integrated Economic Development Strategy Document 2011 Monitoring Report

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1 Primary Contact: Name: Steve Hyde Title: Focus Group Chair Phone: (585) Mobile: (585) Fax: (585) Address: 99 MedTech Drive, Suite 106 City, State, Zip Batavia, NY Acronyms and Abbreviations: BEA - Business Education Alliance The BEST Center - The Business and Employee Skills Training Center BID Batavia Business Improvement District Chamber - Genesee County Chamber of Commerce City - City of Batavia DHHS - United States Department of Health and Human Services DOL- Department of Labor DSS - Genesee County Department of Social Services EDS - Empire State Development EZ New York State Empire Zone Program GC - Genesee County GCC - Genesee Community College GCEDC - Genesee County Economic Development Center GV BOCES - Genesee Valley Board of Cooperative Educational Services Mancuso BDG - Mancuso Business Development Group Mancuso CR Mancuso Commercial Realty PILOT Payment In Lieu Of Taxes SUNY (Brockport) SBDC - State University of New York at Brockport Small Business Development Center UB - University at Buffalo UMMC - United Memorial Medical Center USDA Rural Development - United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development WIB - Workforce Investment Board WNY R-AHEC - Western New York Rural Area Health Education Center Focus Group Members Steve Hyde GCEDC Mark Masse GCEDC Rachael Millspaugh GCEDC Jason Molino City of Batavia Manager Mary Lou Hamm Workforce Investment Board Lynn Freeman Genesee County Chamber of Commerce Tony Mancuso Mancuso Commercial Realty John Cima Genesee Valley BOCES Bev Mancuso Cornell Cooperative Extension Jay Gsell Genesee County Manager Tom Mancuso Mancuso Business Development Group Jerry Kozlowski Genesee Community College/The Best Center Eve Hens Business Education Alliance Don Burkel Business Improvement District Hollis Upson Genesee County Legislature 1

2 All ED36 Begin planning to create A Livable Community -a place where all residents can live and participate in their community, no matter their age, health or physical ability; where citizens can grow up and grow old with maximum independence, safety and well-being. All ED25 Secure $13.8M in Community Capital Investment All All All ED26 Participate in 11 economic development projects wins supporting the retention and expansion of our existing business base and new business attractions ED27 Job Creation of 124 jobs Job Retention of 614 positions ED28 Continue Active Economic Development & Marketing Programs Empire Zone Consulting & Implementation Business Retention & Steering Committee Legislature All Focus Groups All Economic. Development Focus Group Partners GCEDC City of Batavia Chamber Mancuso BDG Mancuso CR GCEDC City of Batavia Chamber Mancuso BDG Mancuso CR BID All Economic Development Focus Group Partners 2 The partners within the economic development focus group, including the GCEDC, are striving through their respective areas of responsibility to create a livable community for all in Genesee County. The focus group will continue to work on the issues and needs noted in this monitoring report. GCEDC 2010 Final: The GCEDC has $21.6 million in capital investment commitments GCEDC 2010 Final: The GCEDC supported 23 economic development project wins, despite a recovering economy the EDC enabled 4 expansions, 2 workforce development initiatives, 3 attractions, 6 retention and 8 infrastructure projects. GCEDC 2010 Final: 36 jobs were created from the 23 project wins supported by the GCEDC. Job retention in the County was greatly assisted by the GCEDC efforts with retention of 904 jobs. GCEDC Multiple initiatives continue supporting economic development marketing efforts to make this a livable community. GCEDC: For the seventh year running, Genesee County has been named one of the nation s top ten Micropolitans by Site

3 Expansion programs Business Attraction programs Excelsior Jobs Program Young Companies/Entrepreneur start-ups/attraction and support programs Selection Magazine s Governor s Cup edition. We continue to use this designation in the county s sales and marketing efforts. Genesee County has been named the 2nd-best place in the nation for food production, awarded by Business Facilities Magazine. Genesee shares the spot with neighboring Livingston County. The magazine notes that Genesee County has a wealth of field space and good production facilities, like the OATKA Milk factory here in Batavia. Empire Zone benefits still exist for companies previously enrolled in the program and are still being managed by the GCEDC. The NYS Excelsior Jobs Program has replaced the Empire Zone benefits and is a targeted program, focusing on the growth and expansion of the high-tech and clean energy jobs of tomorrow, while also supporting the manufacturing sector that remains the backbone of our economy The GCEDC continually works to strengthen existing businesses with Business, Retention & Expansion Programs. In the next few months we will be implementing customer relationship management software (CRM) to increase the connectivity to business, organize sales and market information and better assist companies within the county. 3 City: City and Batavia Development Corporation teamed up to create and fund an Economic Development Coordinator (EDC) position to focus on small business development and further push City of Batavia economic development objectives. This will underscore the community s commitment to economic development. The EDC will be responsible for undertaking and coordinating all economic development activities and representing the City in interactions with developers,

4 4 businesses and other organizations. The person hired will have the requisite skills to work in the public sector, but have an understanding of forces that shape business and development activity. As the City s point person for economic development, the position will also serve as a place of accountability for the effectiveness of the City s program. The City received and with be executing a Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) program grant for $266k to develop a Nomination Study for a 250 acre area downtown that has the potential for redevelopment. The primary community revitalization objectives to be achieved by this project include the redevelopment of underutilized, vacant and Brownfield properties, cleanup of contaminated properties, continued revitalization of the downtown business district and neighborhood stabilization. Anticipated community benefits resulting from this project include the creation of jobs, private and public reinvestment, increased tax revenue and increased property values. The expected time frame for completion of this project is 24 months. Chamber: The Tourism section of has been completely revamped and will formally launch in June The site is branded as and is focused toward promotion of visitor opportunities throughout our county. The site is very dynamic and includes online hotel booking and a new events calendar in addition to highlighting things to do. The next step is to update the main Chamber site to add (among other things) an Economic Development section. Completion expected in BID: Is responsible for the economic revitalization of downtown Batavia. It focuses on the retention of existing businesses and the attraction of new business by working with

5 All ED29 Support Agricultural Industry Enhance Capacity / Infrastructure for Agri-business All ED30 Support Emerging Industry Clusters A new economic base for the community Develop Life Sciences Bio- Medical Commercialization Center Advance R & D into marketable and profitable products Establish a Capital Fund (financing) to provide soft landing Enhance capacity to grow high-tech, advanced Nanotech companies GCEDC Cornell Cooperative Extension Chamber GCEDC City of Batavia 5 potential business owners and developers. Providing marketing materials and a listing of available space inventory to potential businesses and developers. GCEDC GCEDC: The Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park, focused on agri-business and food processing manufacturers, is fully shovel ready. The park will see its first tenant; Alpina Foods, SA, a South American dairy processing company that will break ground in August of The park is owned and operated by a public/private partnership between the GGLDC and Farm Credit of WNY. In 2010 municipal water lines were brought into the park as well as gas and electric and the main roadway was constructed. The GGLDC was also awarded a $3.9 million dollar NYS State grant to bring rail into the park. In 2011 the GGLDC plans to finish connecting with city sewer lines and work with National Grid to install electric lines. GCEDC GCEDC: - Significant progress has been made in supporting Life-Science based industry priming Genesee County and the Upstate Med & Tech Park to play a significant role in this emerging field. Construction was completed on the 43K sq ft Upstate MedTech Centre (MTC). In July of 2010 the GCC s Nursing Program, UMMC s Physical Therapy Program and the GCEDC offices moved into the new facility. In addition, a 6,100 sq ft commercialization center (an Accelerator facility) offering low cost commercialization space is available for emerging life sciences and medical device companies. Significant efforts have been undertaken to better connect Capital/Funding to support emerging life sciences companies interested in MedTech Centre including strong connections have been established with NYS Office of Community Renewal (OCR) and the NYSTAR Small Business Innovation Equity Fund to bring investment capital into this space to

6 support growth of emerging bio-medical and technology oriented enterprises. The agency also completed year II of IsciWNY with funding from a NYS DOL 13N Regional clustering grant totaling $500,000. The goal of IsciWNY is to continue its life sciences K-16 and adult worker workforce training efforts through IsciWNY in partnership with The University at Buffalo COE in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences, GCC, GV Partnership and several area component school districts across the GLOW region. Though funding for IsciWNY has been expended local teachers and students still utilize the lesson plans, equipment and the website to explore life science opportunities in career pathways. Proposed WNY STAMP (Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park) is a large scale advanced manufacturing park located 5 miles north of I-90 exit 48A and is modeled after Luther Forest near Saratoga which is now home to AMD. At full build out the site would employ approximately 9,300 people and would be home to an advanced manufacturing company making technologies like photovoltaic cells (solar cells), computer chips or flat panel displays. The Final Generic Environmental Impact Statement (FGEIS) is expected to be completed in the fall of Buffalo East Technology Park is an approximately 230 acre site located directly off the Pembroke Exit of the New York State Thruway in the Town of Pembroke. GCEDC was awarded a $750,000 Innovative Work Force Development Grant from the New York State Office of Community Renewal in September $250,000 will be used to create a pilot workforce training program and the remainder will be used to continue to

7 develop BETP s North Campus. GCEDC was also awarded two grants from National Grid s Upstate New York Economic Development Division totaling $275,000 and a $750,000 grant from the Town of Pembroke to be used for further development. To date the GCEDC has secured $3.1 million to support the park and is awaiting a decision on a federal United States Economic Development (EDA) grant totaling $3.1 million to fully capitalize the project. Recently, state grants totaling $2.5 million in the Town of Pembroke and $1.2 million in the Village of Corfu were awarded providing critical funding to ensure municipal sewer to the park. The Town of Pembroke and Village of Corfu will be working to provide Sewer to Route 77 entrance to the park with 70k gpd capacity. The Western New York Rural Area Health Education Center, Inc. (R-AHEC) was awarded a $5.9 million broadband deployment grant with 20% matching funds from partners through the FCC's Rural Health Care Pilot Program in After an extensive bid review process, PAETEC was selected as the vendor of choice and a funding commitment letter was issued in 2010 for $3,257, for the region's most rural facilities. Connecting these facilities was completed in May, 2011 and all are now live on the Western New York Rural Broadband Healthcare Network (WNY RBHN). 7 A second RFP was issued clarifying Buffalo facility addresses and to add on the University of Rochester Medical Center, Arnot Ogden Healthcare System and several other facilities. It is expected that the funding commitment letter for these facilities will be issued in early Summer with build-out to be completed by the end of September, In total, at least 36 initial facilities will be on the WNY RBHN by the end of 2011 with additional RFPs and Funding

8 Infrastr ucture ED31 Develop and maintain 6 corporate parks within Genesee County Gateway II Corporate Park Apple Tree Acres Corporate Park Buffalo East Tech Park WNY STAMP Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park Upstate Med & Tech Park Commitment Letters potentially waiting in the wings. GCEDC GCEDC/GGLDC: 6 Shovel-Ready Sites are either developed or in process in response to ED31. This is due to the market opportunity and demand experienced. Latest sites developed focus on 3 key strategic industries (Agri-Business, Life Sciences/Bio-medical, High Tech Mfg/Clean Tech Mfg). The Tech Driven Economic Development business model being employed by GCEDC, including the development and management of 6 strategic shovel-ready project sites, has strong potential to be transformational from an employment perspective benefitting both Genesee County residents and residents across the super-region from Buffalo to Rochester. Tech Driven Economic Development = Sustainable Economy = Livable Community 8 One must recognize these efforts have a long term investment, good paying jobs and long term tax base generation focus. It will take 20 to 25 years to fill these shovel-ready sites with companies but the potential is to create an employment situation where over 12,000 employees could be working. Regional sales partners like BNE and GRE, are essential for long term success. Continued high impact economic development incentives programs both locally (IDA s) and from NYS, like the Excelsior Program among others, and a NY policy environment that must re-orient towards supporting business and economic development is essential in order to ensure maximum long term success. Gateway II Corporate Park, located in the Town of Batavia, is a 32 acre site that is ideal for distribution, warehouse and heavy equipment industries that need quick access to the state

9 thruway. In 2010 we had a unique visitor: Tina Shively of Channel 8 News in Rochester. Tina interviewed Steve Hyde regarding the importance of shovel ready parks to our rebounding economy. Apple Tree Acres Corporate Park in Bergen is a 119 acre park that is home to Liberty Pumps, Leonard Bus Company and Ad Tech. With Apple Trees location directly on Route 33, Route 490 and near the I-90 interchange the park is an ideal spot for retailers, light manufacturers and distribution centers. Buffalo East Technology Park See ED 30 WNY STAMP (Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park) See ED 30 The Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park see ED29 Institut ions All ED32 Develop Regional Inter-Municipal Partnerships: Opportunity Zones Leverage success of regional water deployment initiative ED33 Expand Economic Development Support to small business / retail / start-ups / Incubators GCEDC GC Planning Department Chamber GCEDC The construction of the Dr. Bruce A. Holm Upstate MedTech Centre located at the 34 acre Upstate Med & Tech Park near Genesee Community College (GCC) was completed in the summer of See ED 30 GCEDC GCEDC: Strong community wide partnerships continue to develop with agencies like the BEA, GCC, GV BOCES, Chamber of Commerce, County Planning, BDC and the BID. Regional sales partnerships with Greater Rochester Enterprise, Buffalo Niagara Enterprise, University at Buffalo, Rochester Institute of Technology, Cornell University, and Empire State Development. These agencies are essential to support the long Chambe r term economic development opportunities community wide. Significant activities continue across multiple organizations. Chamber/BID programs as well as incentive and loan programs offered by GCEDC and GGLDC along with the Empire Zone 9

10 City of Batavia continue to serve as an effective tool, including small businesses and young businesses located in incubators, to support continued economic growth and sustainability. BID BDC SUNY SBDC Chamber: Requests for financial assistance via the Chamber s loan and loan/grant programs picked up with 18 applications having been processed and 13 programs approved. Of the new programs, 5 were from the 2010 Office of Community Renewal grant depleting the funding. The remaining programs were from recycled monies from the 2004 Small Cities and 2005 USDA funding. The Chamber processed 5 applications for the City of Batavia programs. GCEDC / GGLDC: GCEDC participated in 8 small business projects including M & M Meats, Bruce Scofield, LLC., Odessey Control, First Wave Technologies, Genesee Earth Movers, Maruti International (Quality Inn), Burial Vault, and Batavia Tailors & Cleaners. The GCEDC and President & CEO Steve Hyde have joined a regional initiative, JUMP START NY. Jump Start is a consortium of 19 counties that is seeking to create an entrepreneurial ecosystem. See ED BID: BID provides advisement and support to small business owners. BID members are eligible for façade improvement matching grant funds that provide grants up to $7,500. Over $270,000 has been given out in matching grants for facades with a total reinvestment into the downtown of over $2.5 million in improvements. Completion of two major façade projects at: Batavia Pediatrics, 45 Batavia City Centre (refacing of structure with brick and limestone sills, plus a new

11 awning and signage). The B.I.D. funding was $10,000 in matching funds for a project which totaled $32,000. The second project was Genesee Dental, 35 Batavia City Centre (re-facing of structure with brick and limestone sills). B.I.D. funding was $7,500 in matching funds for a project which totaled $45,000. People ED34 Enhance Workforce Development Offerings to business community Workforce NY/ WIB The BEST Center Workfor ce NY / WIB GCEDC: GCEDC continued efforts with IsciWNY, the life sciences career pathways program, and its related partners (UB, GCC, GV BOCES, GLOW school districts, BEA) and exhausted Year II 13N funding for this regional workforce cluster and training program totaling $500,000. GCC GV BOCES 50 Science teachers have received over 500 days of training and experiences visiting local life-science companies. BEA An additional 152 Science, Technology, Home and Career Skills Teachers and School Counselors have received training on use of the IsciWNY website. Over 4,979 students have been exposed to the wide range of careers available to them. GLOW region high schools have received over $50,000 in biotech equipment for their schools. Over two years, 217 high school students earned college credit, in their home schools, from GCC in Biotechnology as the college partnered with GCEDC and 12 high schools to offer biotechnology for college credit. The IsciWNY website was created to connect both 11

12 12 students and adults to career pathways in the life science. It includes links to 225 life science companies located between Buffalo and Rochester, virtual tours of area companies, an educational experience on these careers for its users and much more. The Advanced Manufacturing and Nano-Technology Training Certificate Program was developed to bridge the gap between our current workforces talents and the level of skills needed by high tech companies. The training pilot will be offered this fall of 2011, at no cost to qualified and selected participants. Participants will learn skills to enhance their employability, earn a non-credit Certificate in Advanced Manufacturing and Nano Tech Concepts from Genesee Community College. Genesee County Career Center: Total GC WIA Business Investment - $25,700 to train 45 employees for 6 businesses in GC GC On-Site Employer Specific Hiring Recruitments- 61 GC Job Creation 630 job listings (+18%) for 3,457 job openings, 307 businesses served (+28%) GC Job Placements 2,755 employee placements (+26%) Total GC Grant funding = $685,276 The BEST Center Total Grant Dollars - $476,000 Total Orgs Served 653 Total Employees Served 14,553 Provided over 137,866 hours of training

13 Supported 692 individual training sessions All ED35 Address the need for housing in Genesee County in conjunction with the Housing Focus Group (HO07). GCEDC GCEDC/GGLDC has experienced many requests for new housing stock, given the pace of economic development activity seen over the last few years, in the middle income range to include single family homes and townhomes for young families and active seniors. Based on our interaction with professionals we have determined that the need still exists for new middle income housing stock for mobile seniors and professional. Middle income single family homes, townhomes, and condos would fill this housing gap. Early stage activity with a quality Buffalo area housing developer is continuing. The developer is considering sites within the City of Batavia and Town of Batavia. Capital ED37 Address the need for business to easily locate capital for operations Local, Regional and State RLF s Local Banking Institutions Financing/ Incentive Programs Government Grants/ Loans Venture Funds R & D Funding GCEDC Chamber BID City of Batavia The City received $400k to execute a housing rehabilitation program improving the City s housing stock and targeting low to moderate income property owners. GCEDC/GGLDC: Financial Assistance through tax abatement or reductions including progressive property tax abatements, elimination of sales tax and mortgage tax exemptions. GCEDC/ GGLC provide financial assistance through low interest revolving loan fund programs. Other RLF funding exists with Pathstones Corporation, and the Genesee Finger Lakes RLF. Currently a full range of financing is being analyzed to create a young company investment fund. The GCEDC also works with local banks to assist companies get funding they need. Assistance can also be provided with tax-exempt or taxable bonds. The leverages many local and state programs including New York State Empire State Development Corp. 13

14 (NYSESD) programs, NYSESD Excelsior Jobs Program, NYSESD Entrepreneurial Assistance program, NYSESD Linked Deposit Program, Power for Jobs, Small Cities Community Development Block Grant Utilities and energy savings can be leveraged for qualified companies as well but partnering with National Grid, RG&E, National Fuel, New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA), and New York State Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR). Jump Start New York Project- the ultimate goal of JumpStart New York project is to transform entrepreneurship in Upstate New York into a significant engine for regional economic growth. JumpStart is a nationally recognized nonprofit organization that has worked since 2004 to enhance the economic impact of Northeast Ohio s entrepreneurial companies and build a sustainable ecosystem to support company growth. In addition to this work in upstate New York, JumpStart is engaged in similar projects in Minnesota, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. Contact: if you re interested in JumpStart New York project, please us at ask@jumpstartinc.org. visit: jumpstartnewyork.org 14