ALBANY – Holiday wishes came true for three economic development regions in the state, each receiving half a billion dollars on Thursday to kick-start projects that promote economic growth.
The Southern Tier was one of those regions. The Southern Tier – composed of Chenango, Broome, Tioga, Delaware, Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben, and Tompkins counties – will receive $500 million dolled out over the next five years through the Upstate Revitalization Initiative (URI), a program aimed at systematically revitalizing the economy of Upstate New York.
URI funds have also been awarded to the Central and Finger Lakes regions.
The Southern Tier has already leveraged more than $303 million awarded through the Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) initiative since 2011. The Southern Tier council says its URI plan will bolster more than $2.5 billion in private investment, create more than 10,200 jobs, and have an overall economic impact of $3.4 billion over the next five years.
A total 61 projects made the short list in the Southern Tier’s URI plan. They include a $3.5 million health education complex in Corning, a $3.5 million mixed-use residential and commercial facility in Binghamton, and a $2 million innovation park in Binghamton.
In Chenango County, the Southern Tier executive committee short-listed five projects which are ready to go. Barring unfortunate circumstances at the state level, all five of those projects will be funded through the URI, according to Commerce Chenango President and CEO Steve Craig.
“It’s the most projects we’ve ever applied for, and we basically received approval for all five,” Craig said, citing the extra benefit of being able to fund projects when applications don’t line up with the state’s Consolidated Funding Application timelines. “Money will be spread out relatively evenly over the next five years. This will create a system whereby we can entertain applications on a rolling basis instead of once a year, which will be more user friendly for people who have projects that don’t coincide with the CFA funding cycle.”
For now, the five projects likely to see funding in Chenango include assistance to the Leatherstocking Gas Company for construction of a natural gas pipeline from Bainbridge to Greene, mainly for the benefit of the largest employer in the Southern Tier, the Raymond Corporation. The pipeline would also benefit industrial users in Bainbridge and residential users in both villages.
The Raymond Corporation will additionally receive money for another project called the “Raymond Center of Excellence.”
