Economic Development Week in Review: August 13 – August 17, 2018
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CEG IN THE NEWS
REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEWS
Project expected to transform Starbuck Island
“Schenectady, with its General Electric and American Locomotive plants, may have lighted and hauled the world. But for a while in the 1800s, Green Island and Troy could claim to have heated it.
The Starbuck Foundry, located on what today is called Center Island, part of the village of Green Island, produced a wide range of products out of molten iron, everything from columns, window caps and building facades, to plows, mills for processing tree bark, and cast iron stoves for heating and cooking.”
This showman-turned-farmer sees business in worms
“On a bright summer day, Chad Currin was showing off his garden, with juicy tomato plants, hot peppers and thick sunflowers growing between manufacturing plants in the Glenville Industrial Park.
It is a test site for Currin’s BioSoil Farm, an indoor worm farm where he manufactures worm castings, a potent and natural fertilizer.”
Plug Power will create 97 jobs at new Clifton Park
“Plug Power’s previously revealed plan to open a second fuel cell production facility will create 97 jobs, Gov. Andrew Cuomo revealed Thursday ahead of a Friday ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Cuomo also revealed additional details about the second facility, which will supplement Plug Power’s longtime headquarters and factory in Latham.”
Ground broken in Colonie for new Ayco headquarters
“Officials broke ground Monday for a $23.6 million building that will house the headquarters operation for financial services firm Ayco Corp., allowing it to centralize its operations, now at three locations in the Capital Region.
Larry Restieri, president and CEO of Ayco and a managing partner at Goldman Sachs, its parent company, said the first employees are expected to move in during the first quarter of 2020.”
$92M slated for Albany International Airport upgrades, Northway exit changes
“Albany County’s airport is getting a $92 million makeover that will upgrade the facilities, increase parking and reshape the way commuters arrive at the Albany International Airport.
State officials on Tuesday announced that $72 million in state grants are slated to assist with the multi-million-project, with an additional $18.25 million coming from the Albany County Airport Authority and $1.8 million from federal funding.”
Universities win $1.2 million to work with SUNY Poly’s photonics group
“Three universities have been awarded $1.2 million in funding from the National Science Foundation to do research with the AIM Photonics computer chip consortium that is led by SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Albany.
The NSF awarded roughly $400,000 each to the Rochester Institute of Technology, the University of California-San Diego and the University of Delaware to partner with AIM Photonics, which has chip making and packaging facilities in Albany and in Rochester. Photonics is the use of light to power computer chips.”
Rensselaer begins review of gondola service proposed to tie it to Albany
“The gondolas envisioned carrying 900,000 passengers annually across the Hudson River have glided into the city Planning Commission review process that will determine if the $25 million proposal will fly.
Representatives of Albany-based Capital Gondola in their application for the Capital District Gondola told the Planning Commission that they have secured up to 80 percent of the funding for the project from private sources. They further indicated they are applying for grants to cover the remaining construction costs, Charles Moore, the Rensselaer director of planning and development, said Tuesday.”
Defense bill includes $11M Kesselring project
“he National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2019 includes a nearly $11 million project at the U.S. Navy’s nuclear reactor training site in Saratoga County.
The $10.9 million will cover a relatively small and routine plumbing upgrade. A spokesman for Bechtel Marine Propulsion Company, which operates the Kenneth A. Kesselring Naval Nuclear Reactor Site in West Milton, said overhead pipes carrying air and water are at the end of their useful life and will be replaced as part of the project.”
Schenectady County sees big jump in tourism spending, but Albany County flat
“Tourism spending increased 16 percent in Schenectady County last year, driven by the new Rivers Casino & Resort, while spending in Albany County remained flat during the first year of the Albany Capital Center.
The grand openings for the $330 million casino along the Mohawk River in Schenectady and the $78 million convention center in downtown Albany were less than a month apart in 2017.”
16 area companies make annual Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing businesses
“Marketing firms, real estate agencies, retailers and cybersecurity specialists were among the businesses representing the Capital Region on the 2018 Inc. 5000 List.
The annual report measures three-year revenue growth to rank the fastest-growing private companies in the country.”
Big production company films star-studded zombie movie at West Taghkanic Diner on Route 82
“roducers are keeping the plot under wraps, but it’s no mystery that an acclaimed independent director is filming a new movie with a star-studded cast at the local West Taghkanic Diner on Route 82.
The New York City-based director Jim Jarmusch is shooting a zombie comedy with the working title “The Dead Don’t Die,” and it is sparking positive response from local officials and businesses.”
