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Third Quarter, November 1999

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Coach USA Center Breaks Ground

What does a community do when its century-old retail center relocates to suburban shopping malls? First, it converts the vacant retail stores into offices that house hundreds of back office jobs (Travelers Insurance, Health Now NY), and hundreds of high tech jobs (Exotrope, Inc.). Then, it introduces a different kind of entertainment – an upscale sports and entertainment center.

Ground was broken this month on the new $15.5 million Coach USA Center on Main Street in Elmira. Down went the old vacant furniture store and dilapidated movie theatre, and up goes the beautiful new 125,000-square-foot sports and entertainment center. The center was designed by Stadium Consultant, Inc., and will be built by Welliver McGuire. It will seat 3,700 hockey fans for Ontario League or Elmira College games, or 5,500 people for entertainment ranging from rock concerts to performances such as "Disney on Ice." The center will also house 23 corporate boxes (which sold out in less than 48 hours) as well as a 300-seat restaurant, 80-seat café, and retail shops.

What makes the Coach USA Center different from other community arenas in New York State? It comes debt free! Lauridon Sports Management, Inc., of Toronto has brought $7.5 million of private capital to the project from a Michigan investor, who will also put up another $2 million to purchase an Ontario Hockey League team. Coach USA purchased the naming rights for $1 million. New York State will provide a $3 million grant, Chemung County will provide $1.5 million in room tax revenue, while the City of Elmira has secured $4 million in HUD-Community Development Funds. There is no local property tax debt.

The center is expected to be open as of September 2000.

 

CCC Opens at Airport Corporate Park

Lt. Governor Mary Donahue was on hand in June to help celebrate the ribbon cutting and grand opening of Corning Community College's new training and technology center at Airport Corporate Park (ACP). This latest addition to ACP is the culmination of years of hard work and dedication by CCC to bring the college into the community it serves.

The $4 million facility will provide credit and non-credit courses with flexible schedules. At 30,000 square feet, the building houses a variety of classrooms and state-of-the-art computer, automotive technology, and machine and tool trade labs. Many of the machines in the facility were donated or loaned to the school from area industry, providing students with firsthand experience on the same type of equipment they will use in the workplace.

CCC officials state the expansion fills a void that businesses have faced for many years. Customized job training will be a major focus of the new center, providing companies with a resource that was once available locally only through area vocational schools. The facility can serve as an extension of a company while employees are being trained.

This service benefits existing businesses, but also helps attract new businesses thinking of relocating. Workforce training continues to be the number one issue for companies looking to expand. Having a facility like the one at ACP helps put Chemung County ahead of the competition.

 

EDZ Training Increases Awareness of Services

The Elmira Economic Development Zone (EDZ) remains one of the most effective economic development tools in Chemung County. It also remains one of the most underutilized. That's why STEG sponsored EDZ training sessions for certified businesses and the various organizations that deal with the program.

James Johnson, Elmira EDZ coordinator, explains that many companies are not realizing the full potential of the zone. "It seems that many of our EDZ-certified businesses either didn't realize that they are eligible for certain incentives offered by the program or that new incentives had become available," he states.

The sessions were held on October 6 at Corning Community College's new training and technology center at Airport Corporate Park. Policymakers who are responsible for the administration of the EDZ program spoke about the benefits it offers. More than 100 people attended two sessions offered throughout the day.

 

Exotrope Expands, Fills Iszard's Building

For years, the Iszard's building at 150 North Main Street in Elmira served as a retail destination for people throughout the region. As the retail sector began to move away from traditional department stores, the affect was felt in Elmira and the Iszard's building sat vacant.

That all began to change in 1996 when Exotrope Inc., a startup software development company, moved their headquarters to the fourth floor of the building. Since that time, Exotrope has successfully developed anti-pornography and educational software that is light years ahead of the competition. Demand for the product has been staggering.

The BAIR (Basic Artificial Intelligence Routines) is Exotrope's leading product. It blocks pornography on the Internet from reaching your personal computer. The software does this by looking at words, shapes, sizes, and flesh tones of a Web site. The competition will only block sites that have been predetermined by programmers as pornographic.

As a result of the success of the BAIR and other products being developed, Exotrope has announced plans to expand their operations to the second and third floors of the 150 North Main Street building. The company has also been negotiating with local and state economic development organizations to secure funding to assist with their expansion to the second floor of the building.

All of this expansion also means jobs for downtown Elmira. Initial commitments for the product call for the addition of up to 300 jobs for the company. Exotrope officials expect that number to grow as more contracts for the product are negotiated.

The renovations being done to the former Iszard's building to accommodate Exotrope's growth will transform the building into a state-of-the-art technology center used to showcase the company and its products.

 

A&P Plant for Sale

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P) has formally listed for sale their 1.5-million-square-foot facility in Horseheads.

Built in 1964-1965, and once the home of the country's largest food processing plant, employing in excess of 2,000 workers, the facility sat vacant for more than a decade. Finally, in 1995, Toshiba leased approximately one third of the building for the distribution of products manufactured at its adjacent plant.

In 1997, Ames Department Stores secured a lease on 600,000 square feet of remaining distribution space, leaving available office space (60,000 square feet) and some warehouse space (250,000 square feet). Recently, Ames announced they were moving their Horseheads operations, making additional space available at the A&P facility.

David Beal, vice president, is the listing broker. He may be contacted at 215-322-5100.

 

Welcome to the Southern Tier and the World!

STEG would like welcome two future economic developers into the world. STEG's business manager, Tara Cofone, and her husband Daniel, are the proud parents of a baby girl. Daughter Deanna Michelle was born on July 14, weighing 6 pounds, 9 ounces.

Former STEG employee Mike Morse also has a new addition to his family. Mike and his wife Lisa are also proud parents of a daughter. Born on July 25, Natalie Kathryn weighed 10 pounds, 1 ounce.

The staff of STEG would like to congratulate both Tara and Mike on the recent additions to their families.