Southern Tier Economic Growth, Elmira, New York

New York State Route 17's conversion to Interstate 86 (I-86) still has no timetable, nor a clear source of funding, but the Southern Tier's frustration with that situation is being heard loud and clear in Washington, D.C., and Albany.

The problem began in 1997, when a federal transportation bill was passed to provide $8 billion to New York State over the next few years. The bill included authorization for the conversion of Route 17 to I-86, but only earmarked funding for the improvements necessary for the formal conversion.

That left "big ticket" items, such as the Horseheads bypass, with no designated funding sources. Governor George Pataki's proposed 1999 budget called for cutting transportation funding by $250 million, causing lawmakers and economic developers to be concerned that the federally-funded conversion work would be pushed back.

STEG raised the issue in writing with state lawmakers and in person with Congressman Houghton and Senator Schumer. In February, Congressmen Houghton and Hinchey, along with Senators Moynihan and Schumer, met with D.O.T Commissioner Boardman and his staff and expressed that a 15-year time schedule is unacceptable. "There is a need and there is money," said Representative Amo Houghton. "We need a commitment from the state."

With support from STEG, Chemung County collaborated with other Southern Tier counties, and contributed more than $50,000, to commission a study to describe the financial impact of conversion to I-86. The study will be used to show state lawmakers that the investment in creating I-86, anticipated to be over $500 million, will earn a quick payback from the economic growth it helps create.

In the meantime, the state has made an application to the federal government to have Route 17 from Erie, Pennsylvania, to Painted Post designated I-86. Pennsylvania is rapidly concluding work to convert Route 15 to Interstate 99. This is anticipated within two to three years. Chemung County has commissioned a study for the creation of Exit 50 at the at-grade intersection of Kahler Road and Route 17. The development of a full interchange would bring Route 17 to interstate status from Painted Post to the NYS Route 14 interchange at Exit 52 by Toshiba Display Devices.

SEPAC Expands

SEPAC Inc.'s move to the former Elmira Chrysler Plymouth (ECP) building on Lake Road is a clear sign of the progress made in redeveloping industrial and commercial space in Chemung County.

The company was awarded a five-year, $97,000 grant from the Empire State Development Corporation to purchase and renovate the former ECP building. Part of a $1 million project, the package also included significant utility discounts, as well as tax credits through the Elmira EDZ.

SEPAC designs and manufactures clutches and brakes for industrial, military and aerospace applications. They currently employ 32 people, and will add 15 new positions over the next three years.

Chemung Gains in National Manufacturing Ranks

Chemung County's (Elmira Metro Area) ranking as a world class manufacturing community improved significantly from 1998 to 1999 according to a study commissioned by Industry Week magazine, and conducted by the Urban Center at Cleveland State University. Based on information from the U. S. Department of Commerce, Industry Week's index detailed manufacturing's presence, productivity, and strength for all 315 U.S. metropolitan areas (MSAs). Chemung County's ranking improved from 134 in 1998 to 111 in 1999.

Chicago, Houston, and Detroit led the country's MSAs, while Laredo, Texas, had the humbling honor of being ranked last. The MSAs in New York State ranked as follows:

The ranking is based on information such as the gross metropolitan product per manufacturing employee, three-year growth of manufacturing employment, and manufacturing employment's share of total MSA employment. For the three-year period studied (1993 – 1996), Elmira saw a great gain in productivity and a modest gain in manufacturing jobs. The gross metropolitan product per manufacturer employee increased from $40,317 to $53,696, and 1,112 manufacturing jobs were gained.

"Our local economy started picking up steam around 1993 and became a state leader in job growth," says George Miner, president of STEG. "What we didn't know was specifically how we were growing besides in job numbers. The increase in productivity is tremendous. An extra $13,000 of gross product produced per manufacturing employee is significant.

"It is critically important for the future of our community that we continue to support and nurture our manufacturing companies. We must constantly strive to improve our schools, workforce development systems, infrastructure, and growth planning. Likewise, we must aggressively support legislation and programs which reduce the cost of doing business in New York State."

Airport Corporate Park: "Shovel Ready" & Expanding

Chemung County's Airport Corporate Park was one of 11 sites in New York State, and the only one in the Southern Tier, recognized as being "shovel ready" under the new "Build Now NY" program. As such, the site will be marketed nationwide through the new program initiated by Governor George Pataki and the Empire State Development Corporation.

The recognition comes at a good time since STEG and the Chemung County IDA recently purchased a 10.6-acre parcel to expand the park. With 110 acres of the park already developed over the past two years, only 36 acres remained available for development. The expansion will allow us to add to the 500 jobs that have been created/retained, and the approximately $25 million of private capital invested in the park to date.

Travelers: "Insuring" Their Commitment to Elmira

Travelers Property Casualty announced in December 1998 that they would add nearly 100 new jobs to expand the company's business service center in Elmira. This decision prompted the company to seek space that could accommodate the job growth, while combining the service center on Church Street with their auto residual operation at the Eastown Mall.

Travelers' decision provides continued validation of a study performed for STEG by Fantus Consulting in 1998. The study suggested that Elmira could successfully attract back office operations and call centers much like the Travelers' operations. The first evidence of this was the transformation of the former Iszards building into Class A office space to house Exotrope Computer Services and Health Now NY.

Development at Trinity – Finally!

Five years of hard work and determination have paid off at the Trinity Industrial Park. In March, the Krog Corporation

announced it would build a 50,000-square-foot building on a six-acre parcel of the former GE Foundry site.

For nearly a decade, the Trinity site sat as a reminder to the City of Elmira of the corporate neglect that made the location a public hazard. During the past five years, the city took ownership of the property and invested more than $1 million to clean it up, both aesthetically and environmentally.

A portion of the new building will be the home to RERO Distribution of Rochester. RERO, a current tenant of the Latta Brook Industrial Park, recently acquired the stock to Brady Supply Corporation and will be consolidating the two operations at Trinity. RERO will be leasing 17,000-20,000 square feet – leaving approximately 30,000 square feet of much needed "spec" space.

City and county officials are confident that this new development will create a ripple effect at Trinity, similar to what we experienced at the Airport Corporate Park. In fact, there has already been some serious interest in the space.

The announcement came just days after the state announced they allocated more than $4 million to upgrade Woodlawn Avenue, which runs adjacent to the southern boundary of the property. The upgrades will make the site more accessible to trucks from the Clemens Center Parkway.

Company Feature: Cameron Fabricating

Cameron Fabricating Corporation, founded in 1983, has grown from three people in 5,000 square feet to 105 in 65,000 square feet at its Bloestein Boulevard location in the Village of Horseheads. In addition, over the next three years, another 30 new jobs are anticipated.

Cameron has grown so fast that the company needs to expand and upgrade the public utilities serving their facilities this summer. Included in the $350,000 project are an extension of public sewer and water to their facilities, a full-facility sprinkler system, and construction of office space. To help finance the project, Empire State Development will provide a $75,000 capital grant and a $75,000 low cost infrastructure loan, and the Village of Horseheads assisted with the cost of engineering and design of the public utility extension. In addition, the company will earn an estimated $66,000 in Economic Development Zone tax credits.

Not only will the extension of public utilities on Blustein Boulevard allow Cameron to expand, but it also will allow additional manufacturers to locate in this prime location.

Power for Jobs

The New York Power Authority recently approved four Chemung County manufacturers for low cost electric power allocation. Cameron Fabricating received an allocation of 325 kWh of low cost power; Purolator Products, 1,000 kWh; Hardinge, 2,000 kWh, and Hilliard, 1,000kWh.

Past Chemung County beneficiaries of this economic development program include Anchor Glass, Corning Scientific Products Division, Elmira College, Kennedy Valve, Toshiba Display Devices and Trayer Products.

I-86's Future