Greenidge, business park, college are priorities

YATES COUNTY--The Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council (FLREDC) named three Yates County projects as priorities in their September 2015 progress report. These projects include the Greenidge power plant restart, a Keuka Business Park warehouse conversion and Keuka College's new Center for Business Analytics and Health Informatics. These projects are the group's recommendation for funding under Gov. Andrew Cuomo's (REDC) initiative, who will announce which projects will receive funding later this fall.
The Greenidge power plant in Dresden will be converting its existing coal-fired facility to burn 100 percent natural gas, with the total project cost totaling $11,655,000. The FLREDC recommends $2 million in funding for the conversion project.
"The conversion will provide needed energy, capacity, voltage support and other valuable power generation-related services at no risk to the captive retail power customers and will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions," according to the report.
The conversion will commence by the end of 2015, with an anticipated completion by the middle of 2016.
According to the progress report, the Finger Lakes Economic Development Center (FLEDC) is applying to convert an empty warehouse in Penn Yan into a multi-tenant incubator facility. The total project cost is listed at $760,000, with a FLREDC funding recommendation of $150,000.
"In developing this 20,000 square-foot facility -- which is located in the Horizon Business Park -- FLEDC will address a critical gap in the county's economic development infrastructure by creating low-cost incubation space for start-up companies," according to the FLREDC report.
The project is expected to attract five new businesses over the next five years and to create 30 new jobs, holding up to three businesses at one time at the facility. FLEDC is currently in discussions with three companies, expecting to close within 60 days of a grant award, expecting to have the first company located at the site within 90 days.
Keuka College's Center for Business Analytics and Health Informatics is a 30,000 square-foot facility intended to leverage the college's business programs to create high-tech, health sciences and education jobs. The total project cost amounts to $625,000, while the FLREDC recommendation is for $127,000 in funding. This project is expected to anchor a new mixed-use college town development that will serve college students and community residents.
"The skilled graduates of the center will help recruit software development, business analytics, healthcare informatics and technology, agribusiness, environmental science and technology, and biomedical firms to Yates County," according to the report. "In doing so, it will help create higher paying jobs in an area of significant need in Yates County, where 15.4 percent of residents live below the poverty line."
The project anticipates completion by the end of 2016, with the center projected to create 150 permanent jobs.