Industrial Real Estate News Summary
1st Quarter 2008
Gates – COMIDA has approved sales tax breaks in the amount of $396,500 to Induction at Atmosphere LLC, an industrial heating company. The company plans on renovating and equipping a 37,000 sq. ft. building in Rochester Technology Park, were they currently operate on 16,000 sq. ft. (1/16)
4th Quarter 2007
Brighton – The owners of Adrian Jules Ltd. will open a retail store in Brighton next week, which will be the company’s first location other than its manufacturing site in Irondequoit. The new location is at 2930 Monroe Ave., and is larger than the facility at 1392 East Ridge Road. The store will open October 4th or 5th. (9/26)
Shelby – Within a few days, the first batch of ethanol produced in the Northeast will be shipped from its factory in Orleans County. The Western New York Energy LLC ethanol plant means jobs for 50 people, a new market for corn growers, and a potential for Rochester area consumers to have access to an alternative to gasoline. (11/30)
Greece – Democrat Senator Charles Schumer is protesting the sale of Rochester Gas and Electric’s parent company to a Spain-based company called Iberdrola. Iberdrola has made a $4.5 million bid for the company, and Schumer is concerned about the fact that they haven’t made a comment about redeveloping Russell station as a natural gas-fueled plant. Russell Station is currently among the dirtiest power plants in the state, and it released more that 90 pounds of mercury into the air last year. The plant is also highly inefficient, operating at about 55% capacity, and with 68% of that energy going back into the atmosphere as pollution. (9/25)
3rd Quarter 2007
Pliant Corp. – Pliant Corporation is planning to invest $6 million to improve their facility, machinery and product expansion. The company will also add 55 jobs due to the upgrades. By creating and retaining these new jobs, the company will be eligible for up to $150,000 in funds for machinery and equipment. (5/4)
Mill Seat – Monroe County officials opened a power plant in Riga that will turn landfill gas into green energy. The $9.7 million project includes 6 large engines that will turn 1.1 billion cubic feet of methane into 4.8 megawatts of energy each year, that is enough to replace more than 110,000 barrels of oil and generate electricity for nearly 4,000 homes. No county money was used for the project, however the county could receive an annual revenue of $530,000 from the plant. (6/12)
Kodak – Kodak Building 23 is tentatively scheduled for demolition July 1st. Building 23 once housed design and engineering for manufacturing, in addition to some parts fabrication. Along with building 23, Kodak plans on tearing down 16 structures this year. Building 23 will be the first of the unused buildings to be demolished. (6/13)
Xerox – Construction is ending on a 5 story, 120,000 sq. ft. plant in Webster. As a result, an additional 40 new jobs are expected. (7/11)
1st Quarter 2007
Greece – The first cellulosic ethanol plant in the United States will be built in Greece, funded by a $14.8 million state grant, and could position the region as a leader in a growing field. Mascoma Corp. will spend $29.8 million on the 15,000 square foot plant, and several others of its kind are planned for our area in the future. (12/21)
Caledonia- California based Cilion Corp. and Caledonia Commodity Resources Corp., two of the largest named in the ethanol business, are planning to build an $80 million corn ethanol plant in Livingston County town. The plant is also backed by investors including Virgin Atlantic airline and Sun Microsystems. Upon completion, the plant would produce as much as 60 million gallons of ethanol annually, employing up to 35 people. Cilion Corp. received 200 million in venture capital, the largest ever granted to an alternative energy company. The Caledonia plant would be the third ethanol plant proposed for the Rochester region this year. The plant is expected to generate more than $700,000 in new taxes, with 20 percent of its corn to come from local farmers. (12/22)
Livingston – CPAC Inc., a consumer and industrial products manufacturer based in Livingston County, announced plans to merge with Buckingham Capital Partners II LP for $42.8 million. CPAC will also assume $6.7 million in debt. Their shareholders will receive $8.65 million in cash for each share. Pending shareholders approval, the deal is expected to close first quarter of 2007. (12/27)
Rochester – Sealed Air Corp. $5 million expansion project. 33,000 square foot manufacturing facility addition. Project expected to be completed in April of 2007 (12/15)
Kodak Sells - Eastman Kodak Co. will list 328 acres and four buildings in Kodak Park South for sale. Closing those facilities will result in 485 layoffs and 65 million in restructuring costs. Kodak is working to reduce its manufacturing assets from $3 billion to $1billion due to the increased demand for digital imaging.(1/10)
4th Quarter 2006
Geneva – The state food safety lab will be relocating from Albany to a yet-to-be-built $40 million facility at the Cornell Agriculture & Food Technology Park in Geneva. Construction on the new lab could begin next summer, and take between 18 and 24 months to complete. (9/25)
Newark – Wayne County based Ultralife Batteries Inc. has won its second largest military contract, valued at just under $11 million. The contract is for the UBI-2590 lithium-ion battery that can detect explosives, and the CH003 battery charger. Ultralife employs 600 in Newark, 100 in Texas, 60 in the United Kingdom, and 300 in China. (10/10)
Fairport – LiDestri Foods will invest $2.6 million in equipment upgrades and retain 379 jobs. The company received $250 thousand through a state Manufacturing Assistance Program administered by Empire State Development. (11/7)
Webster – Public hearings will be held to discuss the question of a $128 million water plant. The plant would draw from Lake Ontario and produce 50 million gallons of water a day, with the potential for expansion later. The water authority had hoped to break ground on the Webster facility in early 2007, but was unable to get the permits in time due to concerns from Rochester City Officials, the Rochester Business Alliance, and the local Sierra Club. (11/20) Any construction plans on a new water-treatment plant have been put on hold for at least 18 months. The Monroe County Water Authority and Rochester’s environment services will begin negotiations on a new city-authority pact to amend the 1978 agreement that expires in April 2008. (12/1)
3rd Quarter 2006
Colony Liquor – Upstate NY’s largest distributor of liquor is consolidating operation into one warehouse located in Lyons Industrial Park, in Wayne County. The 240,000 square foot facility will cost Colony Liquor and wine Distributors LLC approximately $10 million between the purchase and renovation of the property. Established in 1933, Colony works with more than 10,000 retail stores. (6/16)
Macedon – The 23rd ranked manufacturer on the Rochester Business Journal’s list, Pliant Corporation has invested $10.7 million in equipment, software, and additional workforce. Roughly 20 employees have been added over the past year, and they currently plan to add a dozen more. In 2005, the local facility logged sales of $105 million, and expects revenues to increase to $120 million for 2006. (6/23)
Webster – The Monroe county Water Authority is planning to build a new water treatment facility off Basket Road. The proposal will cost $128 million and construction could begin next year. There are questions as to whether such an expansion is needed. (7/10)
Rochester – The city is preparing to raze and redevelop the old Delco factory complex off of Lyell Avenue, that was destroyed by fire in 2003. City Council was slated to vote to authorize borrowing $850,000 to remove asbestos and begin demolition in October. The site that is being referred to as Orchard Whitney, has a $1.86 million outstanding tax bill, was in foreclosure and is expected to be in city ownership by early August. (7/13)
Canandaigua – The Ontario County Industrial Development Agency is going to court against the Town of Canandaigua to seize private farmland and close Thomas Road. The property seizure would allow the expansion of IDS’s Brickyard Road airport, despite a prior vote against it by the Town Board. (7/14)
Batavia – Milton Cat Inc. will consolidate it’s Rochester and Buffalo area businesses with construction of an $18.6 million facility on 60 acres in Batavia. Construction of the new facility should take about 18 months to complete, and will allow the company to focus more on its agriculture, hydraulics, and rental operations. (7/21)
Palmyra – The first phase of a $32 million renovation at Garlock Sealing Technologies LLC over the next five years, is a 116,000 square foot building to be completed late this year. The new building, estimated to cost around $10 million, will house Garlock’s Klozure Dynamic Sealing Products line, the largest line manufactured at the Palmyra plant, which had been scattered throughout different places on the property. Garlock is ranked as one of Wayne County’s largest employers with roughly 550 workers. (7/21)
Rochester – The purchase of a 12,000 square foot building at 76 Seneca Ave, by Van Hook Service Co., was arranged by Bernie Fallon of RealtyUSA. (7/25) Buckingham Properties leased 6,000 square feet, the first floor of the former IBM building, to Health Foundation. (7/25)
Avon – In June, Barilla Inc. began construction of a $96 million pasta plant and distribution center in Livingston County. The project, consisting of a 100,000 square foot manufacturing plant and 200,000 square foot distribution center on a 49 acre site north of Routes 5 and 20, received a $600,000 federal grant toward railway improvements. Operation is scheduled to begin next July. (8/18)
Xerox – In November, Xerox held a groundbreaking
for the new EA toner plant in Webster. Construction of the 100,000
square foot building has now reached the half way point, and is expected
to be complete by late spring or early summer 2007. The project, using
1,800 tons of steel, will cost a total of $58 million in construction
costs and manufacturing equipment. The facility will create more than
40 new jobs, and the toner produced will be shipped worldwide. (8/25)
2nd Quarter 2006
Infotonics – The Canandaigua based “micro-products” lab is beginning a $15 million project that will add a packing laboratory to, as well as upgrade, its current facilities. The packaging up to this point was being done at Eastman Kodak, but the new packaging lab should be installed by September. (4/25)
Bernzomatic – The Orleans County manufacturing plant will be closing by the end of 2007, and relocating to Shanghai, China. Founded by Otto Bernz in Newark, N.J., in 1876, Bernzomatic relocated to the Rochester area in 1940. Orleans County Economic Development agency is working with the company to see what parts of the operation might remain in the area. (5/12)
Barilla America Inc. – A unit of the world’s largest pasta maker has received final approval for a manufacturing and distribution facility in the village of Avon. Groundbreaking is set for June, and the $96.2 million facility is expected to create 121 jobs in Livingston County. (5/25)
1st Quarter 2006
Avon – The pasta-maker, Barilla of Italy, has announced plans to build a $96 million plant on a 49-acre site in the Village of Avon. Construction of a 100,000 square foot manufacturing facility and a 200,000 square foot distribution center could begin as soon as June. The process in finding a location took Barilla 5 months of negations and searches and settled on the Village of Avon after receiving Empire Zone status. The new industry is expected to create 120 jobs and be ready for production by 2009. (3/10)
Rochester – A Rochester-based real estate development firm purchased its second automotive plant in Rochester and plans to subdivide the property into commercial, retail and industrial space. Maguire Family Properties Inc. purchased the Valeo Systems plant on Lyell Avenue for approximately $4 million. Valeo will occupy part of the 1.5 million square feet and the other space will be leased by various businesses. Macguire owns more than 15 facilities in the Rochester area. (12/22)
Rochester – Gleason Works on University Avenue will lease up to 300,000 square feet after revamping its manufacturing which freed up the space. The company has adopted “lean manufacturing” techniques in order to expedite and consolidate its gear manufacturing production. Record sales were posted in 2005 of $450 million, up from $410 million in 2004. Gleason’s is the oldest manufacturer in Rochester and employs 825 locally. (2/24)
Webster – A Texas real estate investor has purchased the former Tyco Plastics in Webster with plans to lease the 115,000 square foot space. The new owner paid $1.75 million for the plant which was closed in 2004 after Tyco went through a restructuring. Tyco had paid almost $5 million for the facility in 2003. The new owner intends to divide the space into 4 units which includes office space. (3/10)
4th Quarter 2005
Geneva - Zotos International Inc. is undergoing a $15 million renovation to upgrade its manufacturing facility and purchase new equipment. Renovations include the demolition of a portion of the 600,000 square foot plant which will be rebuilt to make way for new manufacturing equipment. The new equipment will help speed up manufacturing and lower production costs. Zotos manufactures hair products for professional salons and employs 290 workers. (12/9)
Henrietta - The maker of high-quality uniforms and sports apparel expects to expand and create new jobs over the next few years. Alleson Athletic will invest $3.5 million to build a new facility, invest in machinery and develop new product lines. Alleson currently occupies 75,000 square feet on Brighton-Henrietta TL Road with an additional manufacturing plant in Geneva, Ontario County. The sportswear company was founded in 1933 and is still family-owned. (11/8)
Palmyra - Garlock Sealing Technologies held a groundbreaking ceremony kicking off their five-year, $30 million modernization project. The company's 141-acre campus will have 26 buildings overhauled, giving Garlock a worldwide, competitive edge. Union workers at the plant gave up 80 cents in hourly pay to help facilitate the project and keep the company in New York State. The 118-year old company is one of the largest employers in Wayne County, manufacturing industrial fluid sealing products. Garlock's employs 550 in Palmyra, with 1,500 employees in plants located in Texas, South Carolina, Canada and Mexico. (12/8)
Rochester - A new company has formed after buying the optical assets from Kodak, which Kodak had planned to close. Rochester Precision Optics made a $9.75 million deal with Kodak to buy a 65,000 square foot facility that employs 40 workers. The plant manufactures precision glass molded aspheres, sphereical lenses and assemblies. RPO plans to create 75 new jobs over the next 3 years. Operations should begin in January, 2006 after making $3.5 million in improvements to the property, which has been vacant for 3 years. (10/7)
Rochester - Microwave Data Systems is planning a $2.6 million expansion of its facility located in the Science Parkway business park. The company will purchase an additional 3.2 acres for $194,000 to build a 25,000 square foot building across from their current location. Construction will start in the spring and be complete by the end of 2006. MDS makes wireless networking devices and currently employs 215 workers. (11/3)
Victor - A local auto parts company that specialized in customizing high-end vehicles is moving to new facility in Victor. Stratmosphere Inc. is currently working out of the owner's garage at their home in Rush and will move to a brand new 8,600 square foot research and testing plant. Stratmosphere started 5 years ago with revenue growing 25% each year. Their specialized market includes developing and wholesaling turbo-charged motors, power boosters and other high performance technology that can boost a car's performance. (11/28)
3rd Quarter 2005
Henrietta - Unisys will be moving its 250 existing workers from Farmington to their new 51,000 square foot facility being built on Calkins Road. The IT company also plans to hire 90 additional new workers over the next five years as part of the tax break agreements for the $5.2 million project. The new building is expected to be completed in October. (6/21)
Henrietta - MWI Inc., is investing $3.1 million in its Brighton-Henrietta Town Line Road facility by building a 20,000 square foot expansion. The local company makes components for aerospace, automotive semiconductor and alternative energies. An additional 24 jobs will be added to the current 63 employees. Monroe County IDA and the Empire State Development Corp. supported MWI with tax breaks and incentives to stay in New York, rather than relocate to another state. (8/11)
Henrietta - Frito-Lay has opened a new state-of-the-art, energy efficient distribution center on Ridgeland Road as part of a $9 million investment. The 41,000 square-foot facility features solar-powered electricity, a recycling center and water conserving devices. In the back parking lot, electric boxes were installed for employees to plug-in their vehicles while at work. About 80 people work at the distribution center which supplies snacks to retailers between Rochester and Syracuse. (6/23)
Rochester - An automotive parts factory on Lyell Avenue will shut down after 53 years in business. The Valeo SA will close its 1.6 million square foot plant which makes automotive wiper systems. The company hopes to keep the factory open until its contract with the local electric union expires in 2008. Currently, there are 500 workers at the facility. Work done at the plant will be transferred to a factory in Mexico. Costs of materials, pricing and competition affected the plant; and reported a loss of $13.5 million in the first six months of 2005. Valeo bought the plant in 1998 from GM and had 3,500 employees. (7/29)
Rochester - Instead of building another facility for $45 million, Kodak will be converting its building #319 to house a machine to make heat-based printing supplies. Building #319 was shut down earlier this year and slated for demolition. Now, plans include building a 1,600 square-foot loading dock and a 3,000 square foot equipment pad as well as additional parking and utilities. Fifty employees will work with the new machine, which is to arrive in November. The building will also have a chemical treatment unit along with a 75-foot stack. Nearby, Building #324 will be torn down and be replaced with a berm, including landscaping and trees. (8/11)
Scottsville - CooperVision of Perinton will be consolidating its manufacturing of specialized contact lenses to its factory in Scottsville this year. The company will be transferring production from its California and New Mexico sites to the factory in Scottsville, adding about 100 new manufacturing jobs. The adjustment is in part of the purchase of Ocular Sciences which CooperVision bought for $1 billion in January, 2005. The Scottsville plant currently employs 200 workers. CooperVision has become one of Monroe County's fastest growing employers, forecasting 1,500 employees by 2006. (6/25)
Webster - Xerox Corp. announced plans to build a $59 million toner manufacturing plant at its Webster campus. The 120,000 square foot building will be six-story's high and create 40 jobs and save 50. The factory will make a newly developed toner which produces sharper images, is more energy efficient and uses less toner per page. Building will begin this fall, with completion by 2007. The Webster campus of Xerox produces more toner than any other place in the world. (6/24)
2nd Quarter 2005
Greece - Kodak is seeking site plan approval for a 30,500 square foot manufacturing facility in Kodak Park. A $45 million plant will manufacture dye transfer ribbon for printers for digital imaging. The new factory will produce supplies which will transfer digital images into high quality prints. When approved, the factory will be located on Ridgeway Avenue, between Mt. Read Boulevard and Route 390, and open by mid-2006. (4/20)
Palmyra - Garlock Sealing Technologies has received $35 million in grants allowing for upgrades to the facility and secure 450 jobs. Previously, the company had looked into relocating to North Carolina, South Carolina or Tennessee. The plant is the one of Wayne County's largest employers and manufacturers gaskets and sealing materials. (5/11)
Rochester - Kodak announced that it will be shutting down its paper mill after more than 40 years of continuous production. The paper mill was experiencing decline due to the digital photography growth. The decision to close the mill is part of Kodak's three-year restructuring plan. Kodak will purchase paper from another source that supplies specialty papers. (3/17)
Seneca County - An industrial park proposed in Seneca County will be powered by electricity generated from landfill emissions. The proposed IESI-Seneca Meadows Renewable Resource Park all ready has a tenant that will build a 20-acre greenhouse in 2006 that and be operating in 2007. The industrial park plans call for 4 generators to be built at the facility by the end of this year. The electricity will power the industrial facilities with the overage sold to the State power grid. (4/8)
1st Quarter 2005
Greece - The Planning Board okayed the subdivision of Kodak property located at 800 Lee Road for sale to its current tenant. Building No. 601 will be bought by ITT Industries, a remote sensing manufacturer that makes satellites and global positioning equipment. ITT currently employs 2,600 workers worldwide. (3/10)
Holley - A fruit and vegetable processing company will be adding a 41,500 square-foot addition to their facility for $2 million. The controlled atmosphere facility is expected to add 100 new jobs over the next three years. MAGC Inc. is located in the Holley Business Park in Orleans County. (2/17)
Macedon - The Pliant Corp. is spending $7 million on an expansion of its food packaging plant. A new $3.5 million printing press will be added and another press will be sent to another plant in Mexico. Pliant produces plastic bread bags including Wonder Bread and Pepperidge Farms. At peak, the plant can make 8 million bags from scratch each day. (2/24)
Rochester - A maker of lenses and precision optic parts is leaving downtown for a larger facility in Pittsford. JML Optical Industries has bought 820 Linden Avenue for $2.3 million. Currently, JML employs 85 workers and expects 10% annual growth for several years. The old facility at 690 Portland Avenue could be donated to the city for use as a business incubator. (2/25)
Rochester - Eastman Kodak is purchasing a 57,000 square foot facility in Canal Ponds Office Park for digital research and development . The former Corning Rochester Photonics Corp. building in Greece has a 13,000 square foot clean-room and 10,000 square feet of lab space. A total of 100 workers are expected to work in the facility. (3/11) go to top
4th Quarter 2004
Macedon -The former Hauser Corporation on Blue Heron View will stay open and continue to employ its 60 metal-workers. Millennium Machining of Michigan bought the plant for $5.5 million in August and hopes to add 145 jobs over the next three years. The company will continue to sell automotive parts to the auto industry. (10/20)
Marion - Seneca Foods, Inc. closed operations of its processing facility in Marion, Wayne County and in Walla Walla, Washington. In a Security & Exchange filing, Seneca Foods said the closing should improve the company's cost structure. (12/2)
Medina - BMP America Inc. has begun construction of its $1.8 million expansion, doubling the size of its current facility. A 40,000-square-foot addition should be completed in the spring. BMP currently employs 120 workers and manufacturers equipment for the office automation industry. (11/26)
Rochester - A ribbon cutting ceremony was held at Klein Steel Service Inc., a new manufacturing and distribution plant located on Vanguard Parkway. The new plant is a metal processing and distribution center and employs 71 workers. (10/27)
3rd Quarter 2004
Henrietta - Eastman Kodak announced its intention to sell 150 acres of its Riverside marketing and research facility along the Genesee River. The property includes a 381,000 square foot laboratory and conference center. Kodak has met with the Town Planning Board for approval to subdivide the land. The company has not proposed any changes to the land. The 150 acres is part of a larger 383 acre parcel that Kodak owns. All together, the total assessed valued is $11.2 million. (7/21)
Henrietta - Developer Laurence Glazer purchased a 48.5 acre property from Schlegel Systems Inc. for $7.9 million. The property at 1555 Jefferson Road includes a 348,400 square foot building which manufactures weather stripping and occupies 200 employees. Schlegel is leasing back the building from Glazer for an undisclosed amount. Glazer has an interest in many types of real estate development in Rochester, including Olde Rochesterville, and the revival of warehouses on University Avenue and Monroe Avenue retail. (7/23)
Rochester - A ground breaking ceremony was celebrated as Zweigle's Inc. broke ground on their $4 million expansion. A 16,000 square foot addition will meet the growing demand for Zweigle hot dogs and broaden their market. The company hopes to move into a second phase of expansion in 5 years, which would include new office facilities. The 124 year old family-owned business is now in its fifth generation running the company. (7/22)
Rochester - Delphi Corp., an automotive parts manufacturer, is considering a $55 million upgrade to its Lexington Avenue plant. The project would create 157 jobs and allow upgrades to its plastic injection mold machines and other equipment. Delphi employs about 1980 people and another 500 at a research center in Henrietta. (6/25)
Rochester - The University of Rochester has agreed to buy the former Praxis Biologics, Inc research facility in Henrietta. The financial details have not been disclosed but officials said that it was a multimillion dollar purchase. U of R plans on establishing a new research center for the study of cardiovascular diseases. More than 200 scientists and technicians will move from the U of R Medical Center which will put all cardiac research under one roof. (8/27)
2nd Quarter 2004
Geneva - Construction has begun on the first building of the Cornell Agriculture and Food Technology Park which will house biotechnology firms doing research. Gov. George Pataki was on hand to ceremoniously toss the first shovel of dirt. The 20,000 square foot building is expected to create 80 jobs and will enable businesses to conduct research in food, agricultural and other technologies that might have left New York. Disease, pest control, and pharmaceuticals are examples of what will be researched. Eight firms have expressed interest in locating to the new site. Financing is being sought for the Ag Park's second building, which may house a grape genetics facility unlike any other in the world. When completed, the Ag Park will be 375,000 square feet of research and development space at an estimated cost of $86 million. (4/19)
Greece - A former Eastman Kodak building in Greece will be the site of Legends LLP, a trading card distribution business. Khuri Enterprises LLC will buy building no. 507, a 396,000 square foot facility, and part of a 25-acre parcel. Currently, Legends has a distribution facility in Pittsford and corporate offices on Culver Road in Irondequoit. The new facility will consolidate both locations and 75 jobs will be added. Renovations to the building include adding a glass face to the Ridgeway Avenue side and an entrance leading directly to the corporate offices. Legends processes and ships approximately 400 million trading cards a year. (6/2 &6/3)
Rochester - Eastman Kodak Co. announced that it would add about 60 manufacturing jobs at its Windsor, Colorado facility instead of adding the jobs in Rochester. Demand has increased for a popular home printer and a line of store-based self-serving imaging kiosks. The ribbons used to help convert the images to prints has been manufactured in Colorado and expansion seemed logical. Rochester makes the special paper used in the printer and kiosks and demand for that has also been growing. Kodak has placed about 50,000 PictureMaker kiosks worldwide. (3/23)
Rochester - Zweigle's Inc. is adding 16,000 square feet to their Plymouth Avenue plant which will almost double its size. The expansion should help the hot dog company produce enough product to supply new territories. Zweigle's is 124 years old, which manufactures meat and sausage products with 50 employees and sales of $8 million annually. (4/2)
Rochester - The Case-Hoyt printing facility is in the final stages of shutting down as officials and real estate agents work to sell the building. St. Ives of London owns the printing company which announced in January its plans to shut down. Union oficials had hoped to negotiate with St. Ives and keep the plant open. Case Hoyt prints has produces award winning catalogs and brochures and employed 290 people. In its fiscal year ended August 1, 2003, it lost $3.3 million on sales of $36 million. (4/16)
Rochester - Negotiations over the last 6 months were successful as Hickey Freeman clothing manufacturer announced plans to stay in Rochester. The deal that kept the manufacturer in Rochester was the $7 million needed for renovations to the 100 year old factory; $4 million will be coming from the state, $1.2 million from the city and $2 million from the company. Operations would have moved to Chicago if a deal had not been struck. (5/13)
1st Quarter 2004
Chili-- Wegman Food Markets Inc. will replace a 34-year old meat center in Gates with a $40 million facility in Chili. The 50,000 square foot plant will be a state-of-the-art meat processing center. The existing 660 jobs will move to the new building and new jobs will be added once the new plant is opened in 2006. Wegman's had annual sales of more than $3.2 billion last year and has budgeted $900 million in capital expenditures over the next six years. The project is tentatively set to begin in April of 2005. (1/28)
Chili-- A commercial printing plant in Chili will close by early April because of failed union talks. Case-Hoyt employs about 290 employees in Rochester. The union was asked to accept wage and benefit concessions to help keep the plant operating. Case-Hoyt lost $33 million on sales of $36 million at their year end of August 1. The factory printed the "Menu" magazine for Wegman's Foods. (1/30)
Geneva-- A state grant of $310,000 will help begin work on roads and utilities at the Cornell Agriculture and Food Technology Park. Construction of the first research building is scheduled to start in May. The 74-acre park is adjacent to the agricultural station and will serve as a research incubator with companies that will work with Cornell scientists. The park project received a $2.8 million federal grant last year and more than $7 million has been raised from federal, state and local government.
Rochester-- Diamond Contract Manufacturing is staying in Rochester after applying for a $50,000 capital grant through Empire State Development Corp. The packaging company was considering a move to New Jersey where more than half their customers are. With the grant, they are now moving into a 80,000 square feet of leased space on Commerce Drive. Diamond expects to hire an additional 20 people to its workforce and complete hiring for supervisory positions within two years.
Rochester-- Hickey-Freeman Co. Inc., which has been operating from its downtown factory for 92 years, may move to former the Elmgrove facility of Kodak in Gates. City officials are working on a $6 million deal to keep the 105 year old company in downtown Rochester. Hickey-Freeman has been having discussions with the city and state officials for funds to modernize and expand the existing building. A deal, now in the state's hands, should be finalized soon. Albany officials became involved when it was thought the clothier would leave the state, even though H-F has not threatened to leave. City officials have also been talking about a potential housing development that could target H-F employees. There are 630 employees at work in the factory and live in the vicinity. (1/27)
Rochester-- After telling local officials that their company would grow, Tyco Plastics and Adhesives announced its intent to close its Wayne County plant and Webster warehouse. Tyco had previously planned to add jobs and submitted an application for tax savings in the Empire Zone just months ago. The Tyco headquarters in New Jersey announced a corporate-wide restructuring. The company announced it would eliminate 7,200 jobs affecting 200 facilities. The Macedon plant employs 173 people and the Webster warehouse employed 27 workers. (2/6)
Rochester-- A recently released year-end market index shows that out of the 87.7 million square feet of industrial space in Monroe County, 8.6 million square feet, or 9.9 percent, is vacant. The vast majority of the vacant sites is in the suburbs. The overall suburban industrial vacancy rate for 2003 was 13.75 percent, down from 2002. The over-supply of space is bringing down rent prices in suburban areas from $4.50 - $5.50 per square foot to $3 to $4 per square foot.. Four years ago, industrial vacancies were minimal and then in 2001, Kodak sold 4.1 million square feet and the suburban vacancy rate jumped 11 percentage points. Other reasons for the sharp increase included the closing of the 412,000 square foot Delphi Corp., and Xerox vacating 800,000 of warehouse space. (2/20)
4th Quarter 2003
Canandaigua-- The Infotonics Technology Center Inc. will receive $1.7 million in federal money from an appropriations bill passed by Congress. The "Centers of Excellence" program was started last year with $43 million from the state and $15 million each from Kodak, Xerox and Corning and colleges. The center could create 5,000 jobs over a ten year period. Officials have not determined how to spend the money. The technology center expects to be in operation by the second quarter of 2004. Renovations have been ongoing to the tune of $20 million. A 40,000 square foot clean-room upgrade is a big part of the renovation. The clean room will handle highly sensitive silicon wafers. The center expects to add 35 staff members and will add more as more equipment comes in.
Henrietta-- The Planning Board approved final plans for a 14,800 square foot building for JSR Ultrasonics. The town owned land, at the end of Karenlee Drive, was approved for sale in 2002 along with the proposal to rezone. The last step in the purchase will be the approval of sale from the DEC. Because of an abandoned sewage treatment plant on the property, the DEC needs to officially rule it safe and uncontaminated before the sale.
3rd Quarter 2003
Churchville-- Mike Lauterborn has the village's approval to build Churchville Business Park on about 13 acres that he owns on Baker Street., where there is enough space for 10 lots each with buildings averaging 3,000 sq.ft. Lauterborn owner of three business including Gates Electrical Supply, believes the site is perfect for industrial and commercial business and Mayor Don Ebrmentraut agrees it will be good for the village and small businesses. Construction is expected to begin on the first building in the fall. (7/10)
Gates-- Heidelberg Digital will receive about $140,000 in county and state tax breaks to expand in Rochester Technology Park. The incentives follow the company's announcement earlier this year to move some production of printing equipment from sites in Germany to the existing site in Gates at 2540 Manitou Road, adjacent to its existing facility. The company plans to add 67,000 sq.ft. to its already 1 million sq.ft., creating 212 positions, according to papers filed with Monroe County Industrial Development Agency. COMIDA has approved about $70,000 in sales-tax breaks to assist Heidelberg with the expansion and the site also qualifies as a NYS Empire Zone project, anticipating to receive about $72,000. According to company officials, this expansion will bring employment at the tech company back to current levels. (7/17, 7/18)
Greece-- Infotonics Technology Center Inc. has sold a 106-acre parcel in the Canal Ponds office park to the town of Greece's economic development agency rather than develop the property itself. The deal involves a transfer price of $1.85 million, though the town is not required to pay that money upfront. Instead, the town's economic development agency will take possession of the property and pay cash to the Infotonics center only as portions are sold to developers. Eastman Kodak Co. previously owned the land in Canal Ponds and donated it last year to the center as part of the company's support for the laboratory. Ed Marianetti, Greece commissioner of public works is hopeful they will see new development, new building, commercial and light industrial business and states there are several developers already interested in the property. (9/12)
Newark-- Ultralife Batteries Inc. has received yet another order valued at $545,000 for its HiRate D-size lithium cells from one of its battery assembly customers, a contractor to the US Army. The army also contract Ultralife for its largest contract ever -- $28 million. The lithium cells will be assembled into supplied to the Army Communications and Electronics Command for their use in the sights of thermal weapons. This is the third contract the company has received within two weeks; the other being a multimillion dollar private-label contract. (7/31, 8/6)
Rochester-- Klein Steel Service, Inc. president, Joseph Klein and Mayor Johnson Jr. broke ground on Klein's $9.25 million expansion project, adding 132,000 sq. ft. to its plant at 105 Vanguard Parkway. The company speculates the first phase could add 170 jobs over time. (7/24)
Victor-- Construction Co., Inc. and Lewison Development Corp. are planning the construction of a 15,000 sq.ft. multi-use building on Canning Parkway. 3,500 sq.ft. will be upscale office space and 11,500 sq.ft. will be manufacturing/warehouse space. Two loading docks with hydraulic dock levelers have been incorporated into the design. Cost of the project is $900,000 and is expected to be completed in October. (7/11)
Victor-- O'Connell Electric Co. is counting on blowing their competition away and boosting the firm's top line over the next 18 months with wind power. With the recent acquisition of Syracuse Merit Electric Inc., company officials expect to add 100 more jobs and boost their revenues to $110 million within two years. Syracuse Merit's wind power niche was an attractive buy, stemming from state efforts to initiate environmentally friendly energy projects. According to Walter Parkes, president of the Victor based company, they plan to bid on at least two other wind turbine projects within the next year or two; a proposed $80 million wind farm straddling the towns of Prattsburg and Italy. Officials at the well-respected electric company are looking to increase the amount of electricity supplied by renewable energy to 25 percent by 2012. Currently, O'Connell Electric employs about 410. (7/15)
2nd Quarter 2003
Newark-- Ultralife Batteries, a Wayne County manufacturer, has won a $19 million Army contract for its batteries and also landed another deal to produce a private-label battery but could not identify the client. The contracts continued a booming 2003 for Ultralife, estimating to get $65 million in revenue this year and turn a profit. (5/22)
Perinton-- Nalge Nunc International is expected to sign a contract to buy the 37,000 sq. ft. former Mill Industries Inc. facility in Perinton, currently assessed for $3.6 million, according to town officials. Formerly Sybron International Corp., Nalge Nunc is a unit of publicly traded Apogent Technoligies Inc. The firm employs 20 staffers locally and currently has 340,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing warehouse and office space in Penfield and another 24,000 sq. ft. of office and warehouse space in Rochester. The Perinton building has been for sale for roughly two years. Nalge Nunc is a leading supplier to the life sciences market internationally making products such as beakers, flasks, filtration units and outdoor products. The company, a longtime local firm, established in 1949, provides high-quality plastic products to be used as an alternative to glass labware. (4/11)
Rochester-- University of Rochester is planning a $20 million, 82,000 sq. ft. expansion of its East River Road laser lab. The extra space is needed to house two new high-power, high-energy Omega lasers, which will expand the lab's capacity for research and experimentation. The lab conducts research into nuclear fusion, a theoretical alternative to the traditional method of nuclear fission. The impact on the community should be minimal, according to Robert Kraus, spokesman for the University, adding that only a modest increase in staff would be necessary so traffic will not be an issue. The two new Omega lasers will be paid for by a $30 million federal grant already approved for the university. The concept has already received approval by the town and is in the process of obtaining site approval from the Planning Board. (5/7)
Victor-- Victor-based Ultimate Technology Inc. has acquired Uptime Inc. of Cleveland, giivng the local maker of computerized checkout machines a new revenue stream from servicing the devices. Already selling its point-of-sale machines to 13 of the top 100 retailers, the deal will include another nine of those top 100. The companies did not reveal the financial terms of the transaction, but combined, they will push toward $100 million in annual revenue in three years. The deal also pushes the company's headcount ahead from 60 to 100. (5/16)
1st Quarter 2003
Brighton-- -- Platinum LLC, developer, is knocking down three buildings - 133-145 S. Main Street, 6-14 S. Washington Street, and 136-154 Broad Street - hoping to attract MCC to build a new training center on the site. MCC unveiled plans for a $60 million four-story Advanced Technology Education Center in March 2001. The center would specialize in technical instruction for businesses in such industries as software, telecommunications, optics and biotechnology. The center could train as many as 4,000 workers a year. The portion of MCC's 2003-08 capital plan that pertains to the center has not yet been funded. The county and the state would each pay for half of the project. (1/24)
Chili-- A proposal to streamline cargo transfer in the Rochester area and help move the region's $12 billion in international exports is drawing support from the business community. Doug Charles, president and chief executive of GMI Development has proposed leasing a county-owned building at 909 Beahan Road and constructing a 300,000 sq. ft. building near the Greater Rochester International Airport, as an international cargo transfer area. The $32 million project would link the region's rail, air and truck shipments at a 57-acre site in Chili. The Rochester region exported $12.3 billion in products last year - more per capita than any other region in the country. Research shows this process adds more than $10 million in costs for local industry each year. (2/21)
Geneva-- Ontario County is seeking to be the home of it's second Center for Excellence, a state-backed center. The Cornell Agriculture and Food Technology Park in Geneva would be the second Center for Excellence in Ontario - joining Infotonics based in Canandaigua. The proposed project consists of nine buildings totaling 325,000 sq. ft. for the ag park. Construction is expected to start this year with some $4.7 million in private and public funding. An overall investment of $75 million is anticipated. Once completed, the park is expected to create 800 to 1,000 high-paying research jobs, many in biotechnology. The park will be located on 75 acres adjacent to the NYS Agricultural Experiment Station off Pre-Emption Road. (2/21)
Greece-- Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, is expected to expand its operations into Greece, occupying 26,000 sq. ft. at 155 Bellwood Drive, former home of the Sutherland Group Ltd. The owner of the building is Morgan Management LLC and said Ortho is slated to move in by the end of February. Ortho-Clinical plans to conduct extensive renovations at the facility and has some 1,200 local employees. (1/24)
Rochester-- Monroe County law makers approved a deal that will result in the sale of the county's coal-burning Iola powerhouse for $7 million. The sale results not only in the county saving money, but also switching to a less polluting form of energy. The new power generating units will be at the county's former fleet maintenance building at Iola and at the nearby MCC building 7. The new arrangement will, after the first year, cost the county about $1 million less than it now spends on energy from Iola. (12/24)
Rochester-- CPI Business Groups Inc. has purchased DeRidder Inc., a Rochester-based manufacturing, packaging and fulfillment firm. The two companies became subsidiaries of parent company of CPI Holdings Inc. CPI at 500 Lee Road has some 200 staffers. (1/31)
4th Quarter 2002
Canandaigua-- -- In July, Gov. George Pataki announced the $43 million in state funding for the Center of Excellence in Infotonics; by late August, two area photonics businessmen, Chris Cotton and John Hart purchased a small office on Brighton-Henrietta Town Line Road and started ASE Instruments with the help of a $118,000 grant from the center. ASE plans to commercialize local photonics and optics technology, but the first project will be to build an optical monitoring device to measure power levels in telecommunications systems. Cotton and Hart plan to start small utilizing ideas deriving from the Center and other sources to grow and expand. (9/18)
Canandaigua-- According to a company spokesperson, the 42,000 sq.ft. addition to Canandaigua Wine's division headquarters is well underway with the foundation poured and the steel structure erected, and is expected to be completed in April. Construction on a planned 247-car parking lot is underway as well. The $5.5 million addition at 235 N. Bloomfield Road will nearly double the headquarters in size, making room for the approximate 115 employees from other Wine offices on Parkside Drive, Route 332 and North Street. (10/24)
Dansville-- Foster Wheeler Ltd., a subsidiary of Foster Wheeler Energy will close their Dansville operations by February. Company spokeswoman, Sherry Peske said high costs, particularly labor costs, forced the closing. The company had discontinued boiler manufacturing at the plant and turned it into a service and repair facility. The plant is believed to employ about 140 people, down from 350 in 2001 and the company will work with the state Labor Department to provide outplacement services. Officials said the company will take a $6 million charge against earnings to cover the costs associated with closing. (12/5)
Honeoye-- Custom Air Design, Inc. has agreed to clean up the former J&S Conveyor site across the street from their property at 8642 Route 20A in exchange for using it as a second location for their fabrication of stainless steel for the medical industry. The J&S building will add about 40,000 sq.ft. to operations and with the expansion, the company hopes to double its business within the next couple years. J&S went bankrupt in 1995 and in accordance with their deal, CAD will pay back taxes of $126,000 - excluding interest and penalties - and begin paying taxes and all other real property charges beginning the 2003 town and county tax bill. (12/12)
LeRoy-- Pittsford Capital Group Inc. will help raise $35 million to support a new fruit processing and juice-packaging plant that will be located in the former Pro-Fac Agrilink building. International Fruit Processing North America New York has partnered with the financial services firm in an effort to create 300 jobs, with expectations of taking in more than 3 million bushels of apples annually. The company won Empire Zone status and entered an agreement with Cornell University to develop 100% not-from-concentrate apple juice, which will be developed at the state Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva and made and packaged at the new plant. An opening date has not been reported. (11/6)
Rochester-- The University of Rochester's Gen*NY*sis (Generating Employment Through NYScience) program is expected to receive a $30 million NY state grant by year end and a home for start-up biotechnology companies at Rochester Technology Park, according to reports. $5 million of the grant will be set aside for biotech start-up research ventures needing to lease space at the Tech Park. Brad Cohen, CEO of Cohen Asset Management purchased the tech park Eastman Kodak in 2000 and has been marketing the facility's space for lease over the past year. The park can accommodate a variety of uses including office, high tech manufacturing, biotech, telecommunication/data centers, and retail. According to reports, Cohen has invested several million dollars this year in improving and enhancing the park's road surfaces, access roads and signage. The park also offers centralized security and its own power plant. Cohen is enthusiastic to join with the U of R in supporting local economy and giving home to new venture biotech companies. (11/11)
Rochester-- 14621 Industrial Park, created by the city following the demolition of Silver Stadium in 1998, could add another tenant to its roster. Spex-Precision Machine Technologies wants to buy land from the city of Rochester for $25,380 and move into a 15,000 sq.ft. plant by March and would be the park's third tenant, leaving two lots remaining on the 11-acre site. Spex, currently at 1281 St. Paul Street employs 15 manufacturing and supplying precision machine parts to the medical, electronics and transportation industries. With annual sales growth of 20 - 30%, Spex plans to add up to 7 employees and the company's president, Mike Nolan believes this move will support and enable their growth. (10/1)
Victor-- Two local companies will receive a total of $750,000 in federal money to expand facilities and create new jobs. Horizon Aerospace LLC and Gypsum Systems Interiors Ltd will receive $550,000 and $200,000 respectively. Horizon, currently located on Blossom Drive manufactures airplane and aerospace instruments, will buy a 26,000 sq.ft. building on Gateway Drive to accommodate the influx of operations and addition of about 100 positions and will buy equipment and machinery as well as renovate the new building. According to assistant Ontario County economic development director Roberta Hutchinson, Gypsum plans to use its funding to move from its Victor-Manchester Road location to a 26,000 sq.ft. facility to be constructed on 16 acres on Loomis Road in Farmingston, allowing for the creation of 50 new jobs. (10/25)
3rd Quarter 2002
Canandaigua-- Governor George E. Pataki announced the states financial backing for the long-awaited Center of Excellence in optics and electronics in Canandaigua and pledged $43 million toward the project. $21.5 million will go toward equipment and clean room lab space, $6.5 for real estate purchases and $15 million over five years for product development efforts in Monroe County. An additional $15 million each from Kodak, Corning and Xerox has been slated for this project and have pledged to raise $30 million from other companies. The project is one of the largest economic development efforts in the state with a goal of creating more than 5,000 high-paying jobs over a 10 year period and generate millions in new investment. The Center will be located in the former Xerox Corp. facility off Route 332 and aims to bring technology from university and corporate labs to the marketplace with hopes of creating new companies in optics, telecommunications and genetics. Opening is forecasted for January. (7/9, 9/10)
Fishers-- Gorbel Inc., a company that makes lifting cranes used in factories, will be moving from Montour Falls to a new 40,000 sq.ft. addition to its Fishers headquarters in mid-September. Employees were offered transfers but most decided to stay in Schuyler county. As a result, a job fair was held to fill approximately 35 positions. The family-owned company already employs 100 people in Fishers and although times are tough for the industry, Gorbel representatives state their sales were up a little this year over 2001 and their goal is to increase sales 15 percent annually starting in 2003. (8/02)
Greece-- Genecor International Inc., founded in Rochester in 1982, plans to build a plant to manufacture therapeutic protein-based drugs. The plans include two, 20,000 sq.ft. buildings at its 1720 Lexington Ave site in Greece in the next five yeas. Cost for the project is estimated to be $50 million. Upon completion, the project would create upward of 100 jobs. Monroe County Legislature approved Empire Zone status for the property. The company is also eligible for a grant of $550,000 from Empire State Development Corp that would be used for training. Construction on the first building will begin later this year with an expected completion within 24 months. If Genecor moves into full production of therapeutic protein, they would build a commercial manufacturing facility that would call for some 500 jobs. (7/11)
Honeoye Falls-- GM opened a new 64,000 sq.ft. plant at its Honeoye Falls research center to help the company become the first to build and sell more than 1 million fuel cell vehicles, officials said. The facility is the key step to realizing fuel cells and hydrogen are as common place as petroleum is today. It is the company's hopes the fuel cell technology will also generate electricity for homes and businesses in the future. The plant is expected to generate 100 additional research and engineering jobs. (7/02)
Pittsford-- VirtualScopics LLC founded at the University of Rochester and the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer formed a partnership, the companies announced. Pfizers investment will enable VirtualScopics to further develop its technology and expand operations, company officals report. Pfizer will buy a stake in the two year old company and purchase services from them for at least three years. The company now employs 25 staff and expects there will be a need to hire more employees as they grow. (8/02)
Rochester-- Monroe County Executive, Jack Doyle has proposed a plan to sell the Iola Powerhouse on E. Henrietta Rd. and convert it from a steam generation to a co-generation electric plant. The county is considering two options; one, Siemens would buy the Iola plant and own the proposed facility; two, a local development corp would be formed to buy and own the facility. The proposed facility would provide electricity to MCC, the community hospital and the University of Rochester. (9/6)
Victor-- Flightline Electronics, the company that designs and manufactures Sonobuoy telemetry receivers, landed a $2.2 million contract with the U.S. Navy, which involves producing 13 99-channel Sonobuoy receivers over the next year. Flightline also received two state awards from the Amercian Legion this summer and moved in April from County Road 42 to their new home in the Omnitech Industrial Park. In business for more than 30 years, Flightline was acquired by a British company in 1997 and is now known as Ultra Electronics Flightline Sytems. (9/16)
Victor-- REDCOM Laboratories, located near the intersection of Main Street and Route 96, has been awarded its largest contract ever with the U.S. Department of Defense, totaling just over $76 million. The contract involves supplying a voice portion of a program for use by the U.S. Air Force for state-of-the-art ground communications. A portion of the contract, $22 million, is to be completed in September. REDCOM designs and manufactures digital telecommunication systems and employs 150-200 staff. (7/02)
Victor-- SwiftLift, owned by Peter Swift plans to move into a new 8,000 sq.ft. building at 820 Phillips Road by November. The new building will be constructed by and leased from Christa Development of Victor. SwiftLift sells, leases and services Toyota-made forklifts and also leases 13,000 sq.ft. of service and storage space on Wangum Road. (8/13)
2nd Quarter 2002
Canandaigua-- Canandaigua Wine Co. (CWC) plans to expand its Ontario County headquarters with a 42,000 square-foot expansion. The $5.5 million expansion would allow CWC to consolidate 115 employees from other area sites with the current 90 employees already working at the 235 N. Bloomfield Road site. Preliminary work for the two-story building has begun with completion scheduled for spring 2003. A 247-car parking lot is also include in the plan. CWC will not renew the leases on properties currently used on Parkside Drive, Route 332 and North Street. (5/15, 5/17)
Canandaigua-- The former Xerox building off Route 332 will be the new home of the Infotonics Center of Excellence's $300 million research facility. The research center, to be funded by public and private money, would help companies that specialize in fiber optics, laser and fuel cells develop new products. Xerox, Kodak and Corning Inc. have pledged $45 million to the project. Other partners in the project include the Rochester Institute of Technology and the University of Rochester. Rick Jarman, coordinator of the project, estimates that offshoots of the center's research could create 5,000 new jobs over 10 years. (4/12, 4/19)
Gates-- Reinhart Enterprises, a Batavia based developer has purchased Gates Business Park from Lend Lease Real Estate Investments Inc. for $6.1 million. Lend Lease acquired the 148,000 sq.ft. park after foreclosing on the previous owner, GBP Properties Inc., a company owned by developer Al Spaziano. Gates Business Park, located on Bermar Park is approximately 80% occupied. (5/31)
Henrietta-- The town has agreed to sell off a 15.7-acre plot of land surrounding the town's now defunct sewage treatment plan on Karenlee Drive to JSR Ultrasonics, a local research and engineering firm for $190,000. The town will demolish the defunct treatment facility and JSR Ultrasonics, which currently rents space in Pittsford will build a 12,000 to 15,000 sq.ft. headquarters facility on the land. According to town officials, the $190,000 would be set aside for farmland preservation. (6/19)
Henrietta-- Paychex Inc. agreed to purchase the facility at 1175 John Street from Corning Inc. The building is 222,000 sq.ft. and is located on 38 acres just west of Interstate 390 and north of exit 46 on the New York State Thruway. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The Paychex employees moving to the newly purchased facility will vacate 160,000 sq.ft. of space at other Paychex facilities, the largest of them in Irondequoit and Perinton. Paychex plans to move about 1,000 to 1,800 Rochester area employees to the plant. Paychex hopes to begin moving employees into the building by November 1st. (6/3, 6/6)
Henrietta-- Wright-Wisner Distributing Corp. is undergoing a $1.8 million expansion to handle the High Falls Brewing Co. LLC distribution business. Wright-Wisner also is adding 16 employees to its local staff of 105 and expanding its facilities by approximately 40,000 sq.ft. The expansion includes office and warehouse space. The distributor signed a letter of intent to buy the rights to distribute in Monroe County from the Rochester brewery. (5/3)
Henrietta-- Tim Hortons, the Canadian-based coffee, donut and sandwich chain has recently purchased the coffee roasting plant at 60 Mushroom Boulevard. The former Sara Lee Corp. site closed a year ago due to consolidation of staff and operations. The new coffee-roasting plant will supply roasted coffee to all Tim Hortons restaurants in the country. The plant, which is named Maidstone, has 25 employees and the company plans to hire another 20 by year's end. (5/24, 5/29)
Perinton-- The town has acquired a one-story, 22,000 sq.ft. masonry & steel building at 50 Cobb's Lane at a mortgage foreclosure. The town will pay $775,000 for the vacant manufacturing building formerly owned by Trimatek Inc. According to Supervisor Jim Smith, $700,000 of the money is coming out of last year's fund balance, while the remainder will come from mortgage tax receipts for this year. The 5.6 acre property is near two buildings that house the town Sewer Department and Highway Department. Which town department gets to use the building is still undecided. (6/17, 6/20)
Perinton-- Caldwell Corp. plans to move in September into a new 30,000 sq.ft. facility to accommodate its planned 55% growth in employment in 2002. The custom decorator of glass and ceramic has 27 employees and plans to add at least 15 more this year. At a cost of roughly $1.5 million, the new facility is five times bigger than its current building some 400 yards away on Macedon Center Road. (5/24)
Rochester-- Vaccinex Inc. has completed renovations of its new headquarters at 1895 Mt. Hope Ave. The local company bought the former H.J. Meyers & Co. Inc. headquarters last May. The 33,000 sq.ft. facility houses 30 staffers, with room for up to 100. Renovations included adding three research laboratories, sophisticated software systems, ergonomically designed work stations and collaborative work areas. (5/14)
Romulus-- Approximately 300 new jobs will be created as a result of a new partnership between the Advantage Group, a Romulus-based warehousing and distribution company, and eBay Inc., the on-line auction site. Advantage, located at the former Seneca Army Depot is expected to provide warehousing space and distribution services to eBay. The partnership is expected to increase the depot's total number of employees to 1,200. (4/5)
Webster-- Excel PLC is setting up operations at Xerox's Building 214 at 800 Phillips Road to handle supply chain management for Xerox Corporation. Excel, a freight, warehousing and distribution company based near London, is installing $8 million to $9 million worth of equipment at the site. Excel has also applied for Empire Zone status to receive tax and utility breaks based on the company bringing in jobs and that the site is its first in the Upstate New York region. (6/14)
1st Quarter 2002
Albion-- The County of Orleans Industrial Development Agency has purchased a 53,000 square-foot warehouse on McKinstry Street for $525,000 from Allied Properties and Investment Group in Brockport. The company has the option to lease the building for another two years. Allied sold the building as part of a plan by the IDA to acquire land north of the complex for a 122-space parking lot for the new Washington Mutual "contact center". Allied plans to add 400 jobs to the Albion site and needs additional parking. Orleans County will pay $100,000 while the village of Albion and town of Albion have both been asked to pay $50,000 for the parking lot. (2/23)
Batavia-- The Planning Board approved an amended site plan for Automotive Corp. of LeRoy to build a new factory in Gateway Industrial Park off Route 98. The Planning Board stipulated that Automotive Corp. have town engineers further review the plan and make sure there is proper drainage, grading and erosion control on the property. The original plan was to construct a 100,000 square-foot facility on a 7.1 acre parcel. The size of the building has been increased to 147,000 square feet. The project will cost an estimated $6.5 million to $7 million. Employment will increase from 110 to 150 after Automotive Corp. relocates from LeRoy. Construction is expected to start in April and should be completed this fall.. (2/21)
Brockport-- The Allied Group has purchased the former Owens-Illinois complex on Owens Road and renamed it Sweden Industrial Center. Terms were not disclosed. The company plans to convert 100,000 square feet of the facility into freezer storage for customer Agrilink Foods Inc. The remaining 500,000 square feet of space will be used as dry storage. (2/12)
Canandaigua-- Canandaigua Wine Co. (CWC) is considering a plan to more than double its Ontario County headquarters with a 42,000 square-foot expansion. The expansion would allow CWC to consolidate 115 employees from other area sites with the current 90 employees already working at the 235 N. Bloomfield Road site. CWC has applied for to the City Planning Commission and Ontario County Planning Board for site plan approval. (3/15)
Farmington-- The Sposato Companies of Liverpool has purchased the complex located 1100 Collett Drive from a partnership involving the Eastman Kodak Company and Farash Corporation. Unisys, which leases and occupies almost all of the 70,000 square-foot office and call-center complex, will remain its tenant. The facility, built in 1986, was previously occupied and partially owned by Eastman Kodak. Unisys has leased/occupied the building since 1995. (1/7)
Geneva-- Gov. George Pataki announced plans to create a 74-acre technology park alongside the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in the city. Facility construction will start with a 20,000 square-foot incubator research building an a 30,000 square-foot building to house various tenants. The first phase is expected to start by the end of next summer, cost $7.5 million and create 200 jobs with an average salary of $50,000 per year. Within 15 years, the park could include 375,000 square feet of building space used by private companies, academic researchers and government agencies. (3/21)
Henrietta-- Getinge/Castle, a manufacturer of medical and surgical sterilization devices, is moving its manufacturing facilities on East Henrietta Road to those of its Swedish-based parent company Getinge AB in Sweden. The move is expected to cost about 100 jobs. The company employs 450 people locally. Officials say layoffs are expected to begin as early as March and will stretch through the rest of the year. (1/16)
Henrietta-- DT Industries Inc. is closing its plant on South Winton Road by the end of April. DT Industries bought the former Hansford Manufacturing Corp. plant in 1996. The company did not say how many jobs would be lost with the closing of the plant. (1/25)
Manchester-- The owners of Great Lakes Kraut Company want to turn the factory's 103.5 acre property on Clark Street into an industrial park. The project requires that the Village of Shortsville annex the land, which is in the town of Manchester, to give businesses access to water and sewer services. The village has already annexed the factory's new access road and anticipate the entire property to be annexed by mid 2002. Great Lakes must submit a site plan review to the town Planning Board before the complete annexation can take place. Site reviews of each of the 8 to 12 parcels within the site would take place as part of the review. The Planning Board will then give its recommendation to the Town Board. If the Town Board votes in favor, the Village Board would vote to accept the land. Great Lakes would handle management and development of the industrial park, selling or leasing parcels to other businesses. (1/7)
Perinton-- PaeTec Corporation received a $100,000 grant last month to retain 245 existing jobs and to create 220 new jobs. The grant, approved by the New York Public Authorities Control Board and authorized by the Empire State Development Corporation, is part of a $250,000 package. Earlier this year, PaeTec received $150,000 to pay for the company's new corporate headquarters in Perinton. PaeTec expects new workers to be hired from the Rochester area to fill high-tech positions in telecommunications and engineering. (1/10)
Rochester-- The new 30,000 square-foot headquarters for Vaccinex Inc. opened in the former H.J. Meyers & Co. space at 1895 Mt. Hope Ave. The headquarters has four large laboratories, several specialized labs and more than five times the space as Vaccinex's initial home in the University of Rochester Medical Center. (3/6)
West Bloomfield-- WWWEnterprise Inc. will move from Brighton to the former Power Enterprises building located at 3567 County Road 37 by the beginning of February. Renovations have been more extensive than anticipated at the 5,000 square-foot building. The company obtained a use variance by the town Zoning Board of Appeals in June 2001 to operate the business in the agriculturally zoned area. The building, formerly used as a John Deere dealership, will provide the company with three times as much space as it now occupies at 100 White Spruce Blvd. WWWEnterprise was created in August 2000 as an expansion of a 4-year-old e-commerce business that sells skin care products to dermatologists. (1/7) go to top
4th Quarter 2001
Gates-- Rochester Technology Park will receive the Empire Zone designation, a move that should significantly boost local economic development efforts. The designation gives tax breaks and other incentives to businesses within a two-mile square. The 500-plus-acre park, the former Eastman Kodak Co. Elmgrove facility, will be included in the zone. An Empire Zone gives benefits to businesses within its borders, including vastly reduced state and local taxes for 10 years, access to lower utility rates and tax credits for creating jobs. (12/6)
Honeoye Falls-- David Dworkin, who co-owns the Button Factory, home to the Empire Brewing Co., has purchased a 300 acre vacant property in Honeoye Falls and Mendon from Gleason Corp. for $830,000. The parcel is one of the largest contiguous tracts of undeveloped commercial/industrial land in Monroe County. The property is fronted by Main Street in Honeoye Falls and extends west to Route 15A in Mendon. Two hundred acres of the property is in Mendon, the remaining one hundred in Honeoye Falls. Most of the land is already zoned for industrial use. The village has rezoned 15 acres to allow for retail use. According to the new owner, the type of tenants who want to locate there will determine how many buildings that appear on the site. (12/29)
Marion-- Seneca Foods Corp. will relocate its headquarters in November from Pittsford to Wayne County. Seneca Foods will move 30 to 50 employees to its processing plant in downtown Marion. The Wayne County Industrial Management Agency will give Seneca Foods a $15,000 relocation assistance grant. (10/30)
Rochester-- The city has agreed to sell 1.3 acres at the 14621 Industrial park on Rochester's northeast side to Excel Realty for $26,480 if a foreign auto parts manufacturer agrees on the lease for a 15,000 square-foot facility. Excel is planning to invest $650,000 in the project; the undisclosed company will invest approximately $1.7 million for equipment. Under the proposed deal, Excel would construct the building and least it to the company. (12/3)
Webster-- The County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency has approved a $1.035 million package of tax breaks and incentives for Paychex Inc. The Penfield company is renovating a 135,000 square-foot building that it purchased earlier this year from PSC Inc. The $14.4 million project will create 48 jobs in three years. The building will serve as the home for Paychex's Information Technology groups and house a data center. (12/19) go to top
3rd Quarter 2001
Fairport-- Fairport and its Municipal Commission are drafting a nearly $5 million project that would demolish the old Fairport Electric facility and construct three brick buildings of nearly 40,000 square feet at the facility's Lift Bridge Lane location. The two buildings now comprising the facility are not adequate to service the 27 square miles and the increasing customer base. The water department will use 5,000 square feet of the new facility. Nearly half of the $4.8 million price tag will be paid for with revenue from Fairport Electric, the other half is being paid with money the village will borrow. Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2003 and end about a year later. (7/12)
Gates-- Continental Industrial Capital LLC, the California company that bought the 4 million square-foot Elmgrove complex from Kodak last year, has reported that approximately 13% of the park is leased. Another 15% is expected to be leased by early 2002. The goal has been to have 50% of the 15-building site occupied within two and a half years, and 90% occupied within four and a half years. RTP is targeting companies that have multiple locations and that could benefit from decreasing expenses by consolidating. (8/10)
Greece-- Performance Technologies Inc. will break ground today on a new, expanded corporate headquarter in the Canal Ponds Park office complex. The facility will be a two-story, 55,000 square foot facility and is expected to be occupied next April. The Rochester based telecommunications company, which is currently based at 315 Science Parkway in Rochester, employs approximately 140 people and expects to grow to 250 employees. Building cost is estimated at about $5 million. The County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency approved more than $500,000 in tax breaks. The company will receive relief from sales and mortgage taxes. The move will generate approximately $1.3 million into the local economy over the next 10 years. (8/14)
Manchester-- The Town Board voted to rezone 103.5 acres of land owned by Great Lakes Kraut Company and Curtice-Burns Food Inc. northeast of the village of Shortsville from agricultural to industrial. The largest two parcels, a total of about 75 acres, were rezoned to heavy industrial, and the smaller two parcels, about 48 acres, as light industrial. The town does not yet have prospective tenants for the new industrial park. (7/13)
Perinton-- PaeTec Communications Inc. officially opened its new $11.2 million corporate headquarters. The three story 100,000 square-foot brick building is located in the Willow Brook Office Park. PaeTec received $250,000 in state assistance for the project and pledged to create 220 jobs. Since its founding in May 1998, PaeTec has expanded to offer phone service in 26 markets across the country. It has hired more than 300 people in the Rochester area and more than 950 nationwide. (8/16)
Rochester-- Frontier Communications will add 450 jobs in the Rochester area. Approximately 200 will be new positions and 250 will be workers relocating from Plano, Texas, where Citizens Communications, Frontier's parent company is closing a plant. Citizens will spend $13.2 million upgrading facilities in the Rochester area. New York state is offering the company a $1 million grant to help in the move. Frontier is not sure where the additional jobs will be located. The company would like to put the employees at its office at 180 S. Clinton Avenue but wants to talk with city officials about parking concerns first. (7/27)
Rochester-- High Falls Brewing Co. LLC is pumping $11.5 million into capital improvements at its plant, including new bottling equipment. The move is expected to add some 65 jobs to the nation's fourth-largest brewer. The new bottling and packaging equipment is the largest capital improvement to the brewery in at least the last decade. The brewery plans to add 60 to 70 jobs over the next year to its staff of 485. The company this year already has invested close to $5 million into the facility since the $27.2 million brewery purchase last December from Genesee Corp. (9/28)
Victor-- MCA Group, a Rochester developer, will begin site preparation work for a 50,000 square-foot building at its Omnitech Business Park. The building will be located in front of the site along Phillips Road. The two existing buildings are 43,000 square feet and 30,000 square feet. MCA Group has concept approval from the Victor Planning Board for up to 600,000 square feet of buildings for offices and light industrial development. Up to 12 buildings could be built. The town is paying Villager Construction of Fairport approximately $600,000 to make Phillips Road improvements, including installing turning lanes into Omnitech Business Park from Phillips Road and onto Main Street, Fishers. (7/20) go to top
2nd Quarter 2001
Gates-- Heidelberg Digital will begin building a new world headquarters in the Tochester Technology Park this month. The new headquarters will house space to make and sell Heidelberg's massive digital copier/printer. The $80 million to $100 million complex will be approximately 950,000 square feet in size. Heidelberg Digital won a series of government incentives relating to the project, including a $3 million grant from the state and about $14 million in tax credits and other incentives from the county and state. In addition, about 350 employees will move into the complex from NexPress Solutions LLC, a joint venture of Heidelberg Digital and Kodak that makes color printing presses. (4/13)
Gates-- Lightwave Enterprises Inc., the maker of precision lenses will move into part of the Rochester Technology Park. LEI will build a manufacturing operation there in 27,000 square feet of space. The company has taken options to occupy four times that much space. LEI how has about a dozen full-and part-time employees. The company hopes to have 30 full-time employees by year's end and 100 by the end of 2002. (3/28)
Gates-- RGS Energy Group Inc. has signed a letter of intent to lease Rochester Technology Park's electrical distribution network from owner continental Industrial Capital LLC. One of the provisions of the agreement calls for a study of a possible "cogeneration facility" on the site, essentially a small scale power plant. The idea is in the early planning stages. The final plant could be a new facility, or gas turbines could be added to the existing 50,000 square-foot steam plant to generate electricity. (6/20)
Greece-- Rochester Photonics Corp., a division of Corning Inc., has purchased from Eastman Kodak Co. more than 10 acres adjacent to its Canal Ponds Business Park. The purchase price was $954,000. In 2000, Rochester Photonics moved to Greece to accommodate expansion plans. Eventually the company could employ more than 300 people. (3/30)
Greece-- Greece has purchased 490 acres of industrially zoned land from Eastman Kodak Co., with plans to turn it into an industrial, commercial and recreational center that will bolster the town's tax base. The town bought the land for $840,000. The land is assessed at $1.96 million. Development of the area south of the Erie Canal and north of the Gates border, which includes two miles of canalside property, likely won't occur for a number of years. The land will be the last undeveloped industrial zone in Greece; 3% of Greece is now developed as industrial. The only other vacant industrial parcels in northwest Greece will be switched to residential once the town's master plan is completed this summer. Kodak is getting a tax break on the deal because the purchase counts as a donation to charity. (4/23)
Henrietta-- Store to Door LLC, a Massachusetts-based storage company, signed a lease for 14,000 square feet of storage space to add to its 18,000 square feet located at 1225 Jefferson Road. It also bought 300 containers, bringing its inventory to 700. Unlike other local storage companies, Store to Door brings a container the size of a small toolshed to a home or business. Some 70% of its business is tied to residential customers who are moving. Commercial users make up some 30% of Store to Door's business. (4/6)
Henrietta-- Van Zile Travel Service is undergoing a $2.3 million expansion project. The area's largest independent travel agency expects to grow from 74 full-time employees to 160 employees over the next five years. Construction is expected to begin next month on the firm's new 21,000 square-foot facility on four acres at Winton Place. Russell P. Le Frois Builders Inc. is slated to build it. The company plans to keep its main office on Monroe Avenue in Brighton as well as smaller offices in Greece, Fairport and Baltimore, Md. (5/25)
Rochester-- Valeo S.A. announced plans to invest approximately $115 million into its Lyell Avenue plant. Theirry Morin, Valeo's new chief executive officer declined to specify the Rochester changes because the company is in negotiations with labor union officials. (4/13) go to top
1st Quarter 2001
Chili-- St. Ives PLC, a London-based printing and publishing company has agreed to buy commercial printer Avanti Press Inc. and local subsidiary Case-Hoyt Corp. for $42million cash. Avanti/Case-Hoyt Corp. employs 380 people at 100 Beaver Road. The sale will not affect current employment. (1/30)
Gates-- General Motors Corp. has sold its former Delphi facility at 500 Lee Road to Maquire Family Properties of Rochester for $4.5 million. The 412,000 square-foot building, built in 1977, became available when Delphi decided to consolidate its area operations. (2/28)
Gates-- Continental Industrial Capital LLC, the California company that bought the 4 million square-foot Elmgrove complex from Kodak last year, has been approved for a $1.8 million tax break by the County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency. Continental plans to spend $30 million on renovations at the park. Under the terms of the deal, COMIDA becomes the owner of the renamed Rochester Technology Park, and Continental will lease it back from COMIDA over 10 years. The section owned and occupied by Heidelberg Digital LLC is not part of the current COMIDA deal. Future tenants of the Rochester Technology Park will still be able to request their own tax abatements from COMIDA. (2/21) Continental will present a master plan to the Town Board, which details the development of the 400-acre Rochester Technology Park in phases over a specific number of years. The owners are asking the town to rezone the entire site from general industrial to planned unit development (PUD). The plan will allow parcels of land to be sold off for office or industrial development. The proposal includes a number of amenities at the park, including a hotel, restaurant, shopping facilities and possibly a joint fire department/ambulance service. The hotel would be located near Elmgrove Road and Route 531. (1/11, 2/6)
Greece-- Corning Rochester Photonics Corp., a subsidiary of Corning Inc., is currently moving its R & D division form its location on Clay Road into a vacant building at Canal Ponds Business Park off Ridgeway Avenue. Rochester Photonics purchased a 50,000 square foot building from Illbruck Inc. of Minneapolis, Minn. for $3.25 million. (1/28)
Greece-- Performance Technologies, a Rochester based telecommunications company is planning to relocate its headquarters to Canal Ponds Business Park in order to expand. The telecommunications company, which is currently based at 315 Science Parkway in Rochester, plans to build a two-story 55,000 square-foot building that will house about 250 employees. The project is expected to cost about $5 million. The County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency approved more than $500,000 in tax breaks. The company will receive relief from sales and mortgage taxes. In addition to housing the company's corporate headquarters, the building will also house its manufacturing division, which is in Raleigh, NC. The move will generate approximately $1.3 million into the local economy over the next 10 years. (1/25)
Henrietta-- Corning Inc. purchased 17 acres of land to the north of its Monroe Park Photonics plant. The purchase price was not disclosed. Officials at the plant said there are no concrete plans for the additional land. (1/26)
Henrietta-- Konar Properties has begun the initial phases of building Erie Station Business Park and village, a development of large warehouses and business buildings, as well as residential properties. Overall, 185 acres of the land are industrially zoned for office, warehouse and industrial use and about 80 acres are zoned residential for approximately 350 townhouse and apartments units. Work has been completed on Erie Station Road, curving and adjoining it to Thruway Park Drive to alleviate traffic at the intersection of West Henrietta and Erie Station roads. (12/20)
Rochester-- Monroe Community College announced plans to build a $60 million, four-story training center downtown that will specialize in technical instruction for software, telecommunications, optics and biotechnology. The center would train 3,000 to 4,000 students a year. A site has not been selected. Some funding would come from the State University of New York, the rest from local government and other sources. The program would be a collaboration with local businesses. (3/23)
Rochester-- Delphi Automotive Systems Corp. is cutting 11,500 jobs, or 5% of its work force. Under the massive restructuring plan, Delphi will sell, close or consolidate nine plants and cut staffing at more than 40 other sites. The company's plant on Lexington Avenue and engineering center in Henrietta will remain open. But 180 hourly workers at the city facility will be offered separation packages. (3/30)
Rochester-- Valeo S.A. laid off 65 workers at its Lyell Avenue plant. Including these layoffs, 174 union workers have been laid off since November because of the slow down in the auto industry. An eight-year contract guarantees laid off workers 95% of their net pay and protects them from being laid off for more than 96 weeks over the length of the contract. Some salaried workers have been laid off but the company has not disclosed how many. (1/20)
Webster-- Xerox will accelerate its cost-cutting initiatives by cutting 25% to 35% of its unionized work force at the Basket Road plant, part of the 2,000 area layoffs previously announced. The labor contract covering union workers provides that anyone cut from the work force is eligible to be re-called to their jobs within two years. (1/30) go to top
4th Quarter 2000
Chili-- Rochester Gas and Electric Corp. is moving its operations center from Jefferson Road in Henrietta to 1300 Scottsville Road, the old Olympic Park amusement park site. RGS Energy Group Inc., RG&E's parent company, will lease the not-yet-built 138,500 square-foot facility from Christa Development Corp. Ground is being cleared for the $11 million project, the building is expected to be completed by October 2001, and RG&E expects to be in the new facility by this time next year. RG&E once owned the current 240,000 square-foot site at 700 Jefferson Road but now leases it from Flaum Management Co. (12/8)
Gates-- Heidelberg Digital LLC plans to add an additional 150,000 square feet to its 760,000 square-foot headquarters at Rochester Technology Park, formerly Eastman Kodak Co.'s Elmgrove complex. Heidelberg plans to make $2.4 million in improvements to the site, formerly Building 9, and use it for storage, warehouse and manufacturing space. The company is asking the County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency to add the space to the tax abatement package it received in June. (11/17)
Greece-- Rochester Photonics Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Corning Inc., has closed a deal to move to Canal Ponds Business Park off Ridgeway Avenue. Rochester Photonics purchased a 50,000 square foot building from Illbruck Inc. of Minneapolis, Minn. for $3.25 million. The move will add 60 jobs to the company's current 45-member work force in the next 12 months. The expansion is Corning's second major area project. In August, the company announced plans to build an $80 million factory in Henrietta. (9/27,11/15)
Henrietta-- Developers John Nichols of The Nochols Team Inc. and Henry Hansen have proposed plans to create a business park at the southwest corner of the Thruway and Interstate 390. The Town Board would have to change the zoning of the site from residential to industrial for the project to proceed, and a special-use permit, as well as other building approvals from the Planning Board, may be required. The types of businesses that could come to Eagles Landing would be high-technology, telecommunications, research and assembly firms, but not the high-use, manufacturing facilities commonly associated with industrial uses. Approximately 40 acres of the site would be for the business park, and another 70 acres would be dedicated for green space. (11/1)
Henrietta-- Rochester Institute of Technology will receive state money for building an information technology laboratory and developing a cooperative program with local telecom companies. The project will use $1.5 million from the state and technical support from Frontier Communications to build a 9,500 square-foot, two-story facility on RIT's campus, next to the Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies. Construction could begin early next spring, with an opening in the summer. The building would include a research lab, a test bed for emerging technologies, a cooperative program for students, and a training facility for students and local telecom employees. (10/13)
Henrietta-- Verizon Wireless has agreed to purchase from the town, 8.7 acres for future development. The $700,000 deal involves a parcel of land at Calkins Road and Interstate 390. Town officials will use the money to help offset the construction cost of a new $2.8 million public works building. Verizon is not commenting on its plans for the property. (10/13)
Newark-- Seneca Foods Corp. is turning its Wayne County canning plant into a warehouse as part of its plan to consolidate production and improve efficiency. The closing means the loss of 100 seasonal jobs. Approximately 25 managers and other full-time workers will be relocated to other company sites. The plant was built in 1918; Seneca Foods bought it in 1973 and used it for canning operations. (12/6)
Rochester-- Kodak began knocking down the last portions of Building 25 as part of its five-year project to reshape the face of Kodak Park by demolishing empty and under-used buildings. Building 25, visible from Ridge Road, was formerly used to put color film into packages. Kodak said it needed to demolish the buildings to save money on operating costs and improve traffic flow within Kodak Park. In total, the demolitions claimed 1.6 million square feet. Kodak Park in total is more than 25 million square feet. Kodak reuses demolition debris as base for road and construction projects. (10/11)
Victor-- Per-Con Management Corp. of Rochester plans to open a second office and industrial use building at the 40-acre Victor Business Center. Per-Con Management will build a 66,000 square-foot building just west of their existing 187,000 square-foot building. Project plans have received concept and preliminary approval from the village Planning Board. Final approval is required before work can begin. Once the project gets final approval, Per-Con will start construction when they have secured tenants for at least 30% of the building. (9/25)
Victor-- Zoetek Medical Equipment and Repair Inc. has moved its offices to the former Messenger Post Publications building on Phillips Road. Currently, Zoetek Medical employs 20 people and plans to add at least four more jobs by the end of the year. The company completed extensive remodeling before moving into its new quarters at the end of September. The assessor's office shows that the 17,600 square-foot building sits on 2.2 acres and is currently assessed at $470,000. Zoetek received no assistance from the Industrial Development Agency or similar organizations in purchasing the building. (10/9)
Webster-- The Town Board has approved an industrial use permit for the expansion at Trident Precision Manufacturing, a contract manufacturer that employs nearly 200 people. The 66,987 square-foot expansion will allow the company to add another 40 jobs at its plant at 734 Salt Road. (1/24)
Webster-- Xerox declined to renew a lease for 125,000 square feet of warehouse space in two buildings owned by the Boulter Family. The vacated buildings sit one block east of Xerox's main facilities at 1720 Basket Road. The company also said it would not renew the lease for another 100,000 square feet of space in the next six months as part of a major cost-reduction effort. (11/17) go to top
3rd Quarter 2000
Canandaigua-- Badge Machine Products Inc., a maker of precision tooled, special-purpose parts, and its 25 employees will move to a 24,000 square-foot building at 2493 Brickyard Road. Its present site at 1900 Brickyard Road is less than 10,000 square feet. The company also rents 6,000 square-feet of additional space. The company will receive exemptions from mortgage-recording taxes, exemptions from sales and use taxes, and abatement of real-property taxes for five years from Ontario County before being phased into fully taxed status by 20% increments over the subsequent five years. Badge Machine is looking to add 10 to 15 jobs as it moves to a 3.2-acre site next door to Corsair Display systems. The family-owned company was founded in 1973. (8/24)
Gates-- Heidelber Digital LLC will receive the largest package of tax breaks ever offered by the County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency. The incentives are to help Heidelberg build and $84.1 million, 760,000 square-foot, North American headquarters at Rochester Technology Park, formerly Eastman Kodak Co.'s Elmgrove complex. Under terms of the deal, Heidelberg will add 390 jobs to the 1,214 already there. The tax breaks include: a $2.81 million reprieve on the sales tax for construction and equipment costs, an $840,000 cut in mortgage taxes and a $3.22 million cut on its property taxes over 10 years. The Empire State Development Corp., New York's development office, has committed to giving Heidelberg $3 million in grants and Monroe County plans to contribute $500,000 for sewer upgrades. According to COMIDA, the community should see a $32.76 million economic benefit over 10 years. That includes $12.7 million in additional property taxes generated at the site. Heidelberg has said it expects to grow 270% in three years. (6/23,7/18,7/19)
Henrietta-- Liberty Precision Industries, maker of precision parts for the automotive industry, is moving to a new 100,000 square-foot plant on South Winton Road. The company is relocating from its current space on Buell Road in Gates to accommodate its rapid growth. The move to its new location more than doubles the company's space. Liberty, which currently employs about 100 people, expects to add between 10 and 20 employees because of the expansion. The company has been undergoing a consolidation of its four divisions. It has sold off one division, merged two others and expects to spin off a third by years end. (8/15)
Phelps-- Magnus Precision Manufacturing Inc., formerly known as Magnus Manufacturing Corporation, currently located at 9 East High Street in Shortsville, is moving to 1916 Route 96 in Phelps. The company and its 50 employees will move to a 55,000 square-foot facility on 9.5 acres of land. The company will receive exemptions from mortgage-recording taxes, exemptions from sales and use taxes, and abatement of real-property taxes for five years from Ontario County before being phased into fully taxed status by 20% increments over the subsequent five years. In addition, Magnus is negotiating with the county on possible low-interest financing from its revolving-loan fund. The company is planning to add 10 to 15 employees over the next three years. (8/24)
Pittsford-- The Monoco Oil property, located at 75 Monroe Avenue, is going on the auction block next week. Interest in the 7.5-acre parcel, assessed at $1.4 million and consisting of two lots, 1.5 acres in the village, and 6 acres in the town, is high, but the extent of environmental cleanup and its potential cost could complicate the sale. Monoco and the state Department of Environmental Conservation are still working on a remediation plan for an oil spill that fouled the Erie Canal in March 1999. If the property does not get auctioned off it will go back on the market. (6/7)
Rochester-- Genesee Brewing Co., the nation's fifth-largest beer producer, will be sold to a management team for $22 million. Parent company Genesee Corp. has also entered into an agreement to sell its food division to St. Louis-based Ralcorp Holdings Inc. for an undisclosed amount. Shareholders need to approve both transactions. The buyout would save 425 jobs, with no layoffs planned. The management team will invest $6.5 million, from government loans and grants, back into the business. Genesee Corp. lost $3.4 million, or $2.10 a share, in fiscal 2000. (8/31)
Rochester-- Advent Tool & Mold has completed its $1.4 million expansion at the Holleder Technology Park. With the 17,000ħ square-foot expansion, it occupies more than 53,000ħ square feet at the park, the former site of Holleder Stadium. The company plans to add about 60 jobs over the next three years, bringing its work force to more than 180 people. Advent makes molds and parts for automotive, business machine, computer, and medical markets. (7/26)
Rochester-- Boise Cascade Office Products Corp. moved into its new 70,000 square-foot building at 1999 Mt. Read Blvd. The building includes both showroom and warehouse space. Approximately 80 employees will work there. Boise Cascade, based in Illinois, sells office furniture and related products. In 1999, the company had $3.4 billion in sales. Flaum Management brokered the local deal. (8/1)
Seneca Falls-- Stardust Cruisers Inc. of Kentucky and Starlight Houseboats of Kansas are opening a houseboat manufacturing facility in Seneca Falls. The plant would employ 250 people within three years. The project would also create 54 jobs at marinas along the canal. The boat makers will operate their facility jointly. Empire State Development Corp. lured the companies here with a $1.6 million loan and a $185,000 grant. Nozzolio's office secured a $500,000 grant and the companies will also get tax and utility breaks for locating in an enterprise zone. The boat maker would build houseboats for retail sales and rental use. The companies will lease and rent boats at 10 sites along the canal. (9/12)
Victor-- Info Directions, which makes telecommunications billing and rating systems is the recipient of a $600,000 economic development loan. The money is part of $5.1 million in state funding handed out in 13 communities in the Finger Lakes region, including Livingston, Seneca, Ontario, and Wayne counties. The revolving loan program allows the state to grant money to the county, which in turn loans the money to companies like Info Directions. Once the loan is repaid to the county, it can then loan out the money to another business. The money will be loaned to Info Directions at an interest rate of 3% a year for five years. Info Directions, located on Phillips Road, will use the funds to develop its Oracle-based billing systems and to create 39 new jobs. The entire project includes equipment purchases, office expansion and marketing and engineering efforts. The total project cost is $3.5 million. (8/9)
Victor-- Developer, MCA Group of Rochester, plans to start construction later this month on the second of up to 12 proposed buildings at Omnitech Business Park. The town has given conceptual approval for 10 to 12 buildings. The first building, 43,000 square feet in size, is already filled. Developers are talking to prospective tenants for the new 30,000 square-foot building. The Ontario County Industrial Development Agency has "preauthorized tax incentives" for the MCA Group, which passes the savings on to tenants in the form of reduced rents. The cost of tax breaks for the second building project is approximately $237,000 over three years. The proposed breaks include not paying any school, county or town taxes for five years, then taxes are phased in to full payment over the next five years. Incentives also include a mortgage tax exemption and exemption from paying sales tax on construction materials and items to equip the building. (8/7) go to top
2nd Quarter 2000
Farmington-- Reno Associates, developer of Blackwood Business Center is seeking approval for an additional 1 million square feet of warehouse space. They are also asking the Town Board to rezone the 113-acre business park from general business and limited industrial to general business and general industrial. The change would allow more types of warehouses and manufacturing businesses to open there. Blackwood Business Center is one of about 35 sites included in the Build Now NY program. Blackwood received a $50,000 state grant through the Ontario County Industrial Development Agency. Under the Build Now NY program, developers secure required approvals for facilities in advance, so companies that want to build and open at the site save time and money by only having to obtain building permits. Reno Associates wants approval for future construction of two warehouses. One would be ~ 760,000 square feet, with 10,000 square feet of attached office space, on 55 acres along the northwest corner of County Road 8 and County Road 41. The second would be 245,000 square feet located on 16 acres along the southwest corner of County Road 8 and Route 96. (4/23)
Gates-- Separating the utilities at Kodak Elmgrove poses the final hurdle in the sale of a major portion of the facility to Heidelberg Digital LLC. Heidelberg plans to take 870,000 square feet of the 5 million square-foot campus. The company bought Kodak's former copier business a year ago and employs 1,400 locally. Elmgrove's current set-up, designed for a single owner, does not easily allow for separation of utility costs and service to address multiple owners. One steam and chilled-water plant supplies the entire campus with steam, heat, and cold water. Kodak manages and maintains the roads, water, sewer, drainage, natural gas, telecommunication, and electricity, along with equipment, buildings, and power lines. (4/28)
Henrietta-- County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency (COMIDA) approved a package of tax breaks for ENI to help with a $4.3 million expansion expected to create 46 jobs within three years. ENI will receive a total of $357,119 in sales tax exemptions and property tax abatements. In return, COMIDA estimates the project will have a $3.86 million net impact on the local economy. The local manufacturer of FR and DC generators will build a 40,000 square-foot engineering lab and office as an addition to its existing facility on Highpower Road. The company employs more than 440 people. (5/17)
Henrietta-- The Rochester Institute of Technology has requested the town to rezone a 250 acre parcel of school-owned land at John Street and Bailey Road. RIT is asking the town to change the zoning from residential to industrial. The university is willing to consent to a condition to any rezoning to incorporate that any user of this property or any potential development to go in there would come back to the Town Board for a special-use permit. If the rezoning were granted, RIT plans on eventually selling the land, which would put the property on the town tax rolls. (5/10)
Penfield-- The developer of Linden Tech, now called Linden Hills, is planning to add 113 parking spaces to its industrial park to accommodate new tenants. The addition would bring the size of the parking lot to 280 spaces. The development is on a 20-acre parcel located north of Linden Avenue and south of Old Penfield Road, on the boundary between the towns of Penfield and Brighton. Paychex is considering leasing about 36,000 square feet at the Linden Tech Industrial Park building on Linden Avenue. (4/12)
Pittsford-- Monoco Oil, an asphalt plant located at 75 Monroe Avenue, ordered closed after a state Supreme Court Justice ruled it presented a public nuisance is being auctioned off in June. Monoco repeatedly had violated state clean air, clean water, and oil spill laws. Monoco operated in Pittsford since the 1930s as a fuel oil storage and transfer facility then was converted to an asphalt storage and transfer facility in September 1983. The property, assessed at $1.4 million, consists of two lots, 1.5 acres in the village, and 6 acres in the town. (5/10)
Victor-- Quick Eagle Networks will be the first tenant at the newly established Omnitech Business Park, located off Phillips Road. Quick Eagle will lease about 12,000 square feet of space in the 43,000 square-foot building. Company officials plan to move Quick Eagle's Rochester research and development center to the business park at the end of this month. Formerly known as Digital Link, the network access and management solutions provider changed its name in January. (4/23) go to top
1st Quarter 2000
Chili-- The Planning Board approved a preliminary site plan by Rochester Cornerstone Group to erect a 37,000 square-foot warehouse with additional office space in the Rochester International Commerce Center. The building will be used as a sales distribution center for Harris Seeds Co. Harris Seeds will close its site on Saginaw Drive in Henrietta when the new facility is completed in May or June. The move will bring 60 to 80 seasonal and 26 full-time employees to Chili. The board also approved the resubdivision of five lots within the Commerce Center, one of which will house a 25,000 square-foot Motor Freight Service Center owned by Con-way Transportation Services Inc. of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Conway will construct a cross-dock truck terminal warehouse at the 16-acre site. The site, adjacent to Jetway Business Park is zoned limited industrial. (2/21)
East Bloomfield-- Crosman Corp., which makes airguns and accessories, announced it will layoff more than half of its work force of 300 due to the decline in the demand for its products. According to the consumer affairs manager, the layoffs are temporary and occur at least once per year. According to recent figures from the Ontario County Industrial Directory, Crosman, located on Routes 5 and 20, is the town's largest employer, and one of the top 10 employers in the county. The company has been in East Bloomfield for 34 years. (1/27)
Gates-- Heidelberg Digital, which bought the Eastman Kodak Co.'s former copier business, is negotiating to purchase the building they currently lease at the Elmgrove site. Heidelberg is looking to buy approximately 17% of the 5 million square-foot Elmgrove complex. Based in Heidelberg, Germany, the Heidelberg Group is a leading provider of print and publishing technology. (2/3)
Gates-- The utilities at the Eastman Kodak Co.'s Elmgrove campus are for sale. The utilities include steamed heat, compressed air, chilled water and electrical power that have been owned, managed and maintained by Kodak since Elmgrove was built in 1966. According to the property broker, David Wallace, executive vice president of the Rochester branch of CB Richard Ellis, a minimum of two or three specialized companies will likely buy the various utilities, including the equipment, buildings and power lines that go with them. (2/25)
Henrietta-- The Rochester Institute of Technology has requested the town to rezone 250 acres, the northwest corner of John Street and Bailey Road to industrial. The request could open a dialogue between school and industry in a pursuit to form a new cooperative venture where RIT students and staff may be able to explore educational and occupational opportunities. The land was one of 13 sites designated by the state to be explored for development of a computer chip manufacturing facility. The state mandates that each site be explored for a possible 1 million-square-foot facility approaching 70 feet in height with 5,000 parking spaces. The school has yet to develop any specific plans, like possible business partners or new construction for the 250-acre site. The college would be forced to obtain a special-use permit from the Town Board, and would need site-plan approvals from the Planning Board, if it decided to go forward with plans for any use not covered under the town's industrial-zoning designation. A chip-factory and some other high-tech uses are not covered by the designation. (2/16,2/24)
Perinton-- PacTec Communications Inc.'s new 100,000 square-foot headquarters in the Willowbrook Office Park on Route 96 will cost $11.4 million and add 220 jobs. The local telecommunications company, now in Fairport, was founded in 1998 by former ACC Corp. executives. It currently employs 550 nationwide, with more than 200 in Rochester. The company is expected to quadruple its sales in 2000. (1/11)
Pittsford-- Monoco Oil, an asphalt plant located at 75 Monroe Avenue was ordered closed after a state Supreme Court Justice ruled it presented a public nuisance. Monoco repeatedly had violated state clean air, clean water and oil spill laws. Monoco operated in Pittsford since the 1930s as a fuel oil storage and transfer facility, then was converted to an asphalt storage and transfer facility in September 1983. The law firm representing Monoco Oil stated the company may appeal the decision. (3/1)
Rochester-- Advent Tool and Mold, a local injection molding company located on Ridgeway Avenue, has completed a $1.4 million expansion project. The expansion, a 17,760 square-foot addition to Advent's 35,100 square-foot building, will increase the company's work force to 185 within three years. For creating 60 new jobs, Advent will get a $100,000 grant from Empire State Development to help the company reduce its debt service costs. (3/7)
Rochester-- City Brewing Co., a subsidiary of New York City investment company Platinum Holdings Inc., has agreed to buy Genesee Corp.'s brewing division, the nation's fifth-largest brewer, producing 1.6 million barrels of beer and ale. The deal, announced in mid-December, is expected to close in several weeks. City Brewing is acquiring all of Genesee Brewing's brands and operating assets, including its 3.3 million-barrel brewery. City Brewing expects to add 50 employees and produce 20 million gallons of ethanol at the St. Paul Street plant, contingent on approval of state subsidies for ethanol production. The facility wants to begin ethanol production in Rochester next year, making it 20% of the brewery's business. Ethanol, a colorless alcohol usually made from corn, is used as a fuel additive to reduce pollution because it burns cleaner. (3/3)
Rochester-- The Children's Beverage Group Inc. has signed an agreement to purchase an existing 80,000 square foot facility on Maple Street. The 7½ acre site is currently owned by Leone Industries of New York Inc. Children's Beverage Group plans to open a bottling and juice-packaging plant that will employ 120 to 180 workers. The firm primarily markets flexibly packaged fruit juice as a private labeler to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (2/11) go to top
4th Quarter 1999
Gates-- Rotork Controls PLC is expanding is U.S. operations at the Elmgrove Crossings industrial park. The manufacturer plans to construct a $3 million facility in order to increase production and boost its work force here. The new facility will allow the company to move its U.K. subsidiary Rotork Gears to Rochester, headquarters of its U.S. operations. Rotork purchased more than seven acres of land from Gallina Development Corp. (9/24) Gal-Son Development, Inc. commenced construction of a 60,000 square-foot office/manufacturing facility on the 7.4 acre Lot R-16 of the subdivision, to be known as 725 Mile Crossing Blvd. The project will be ready for occupancy in April 2000 and includes office area and manufacturing space. Owner, Rotork Controls, Inc., is a leading manufacturer of electric and pneumatic valves and actuators for the energy, water treatment and paper industries. (12/13)
Gates-- Danka Services International is vacating its 30,000 square-foot space at Elmgrove. The company will move its 250 local employees into roughly the same amount of space in Brighton's Canal View Office Park. DSI expects to move out of Elmgrove by the end of the year. It signed a five-year lease at Canal View with an option to obtain more space. Plans to relocate were set in motion after the parent company laid off or relocated 400 employees who worked at the Elmgrove plant. At one time, the company occupied 217,000 square feet of Building 14. (9/17)
Gates-- Heidelberg Digital, which bought the Eastman Kodak Co.'s former copier business, is in negotiations to buy space at Kodak's Elmgrove site. Heidelberg Digital, a wholly subsidiary of German parent Heidelberger Druckmanchinen AG, is also part owner of a joint venture with Kodak called Nex-Press Solutions LLC, located at Kodak's Hawkeye site on St. Paul Street. The two local ventures employ 1,200 and lease more than 800,000 square feet. Heidelberg is looking to buy approximately 17% of the 5 million square-foot Elmgrove complex or build a new facility in the area. The company expects to complete the project in the first quarter of 2001 and spend $60 million to $70 million on it. (11/12)
Gates-- Gallina Development Corp. and its general arm, Gal-Son Development, Inc., have contacts in place for five building projects, totaling over 145,000 square feet and $7.2 million in total construction cost. In addition, the site improvements for the 140-acre Elmgrove Crossings industrial subdivision are underway. Elmgrove Crossing will consist of 23 industrial zoned lots, ranging in size from 2.7 acres to 6.8 acres, on a total of 89 usable acres. Gallina began construction of a 33,200 square-foot, multi-tenant flex building in July, 1999, on the 3.68 acre Lot 3, to be known as 700 Mile Crossing Blvd. The facility is 50% preleased and will accommodate 3 to 4 tenants ranging in size from 4,400 square feet to 17,000 square feet. The facility will be ready for occupancy in early December, 1999. The estimated cost of the project is $1.7 million. (11/30)
Genesee County-- B.R. DeWitt has been sold to an international construction supplier. The price was not disclosed but Hanson PLC, based in London and Neptune, N.J., paid $72.7 million to buy a group of businesses in the Northeast: privately held B.R. DeWitt Inc.; two DeWitt subsidiaries, and Superior Products Co. of Cleveland and Philadelphia. Hanson's domestic building materials division had $1.28 billion in revenues last year and $212 million in operating profits. B.R. DeWitt was founded in 1923 in Pavilion. (11/18)
Henrietta-- Monroe Tractor has moved into its new two-story, 25,000 square-foot facility at 1001 Lehigh Station Road. The company's new corporate headquarters is east of its previous site at the corner of Lehigh Station and West Henrietta roads. Monroe Tractor does approximately $60 million in business and has 150 employees throughout seven locations in western New York. (10/27)
Henrietta-- Eldre Corp. has received approval for tax-exempt bonds from the County of Monroe Industrial Development Authority to help fund a $3.1 million expansion of its manufacturing plant. The company will receive $181,000 in tax exemptions. COMIDA estimates the 21,000 square-foot expansion will bring about a $328,230 increase in real-estate tax revenue during the next 10 years. The company also plans to add 89 people to its payroll, which currently totals 289. In addition, Eldre is buying 3.5 acres of land behind its Jefferson road plant for added parking and green space. (11/17)
Henrietta-- ADT Security Services Inc. has completed construction of its 44,000 square-foot Customer Care Center. Construction of the $14 million ADT monitoring center began in March. The nine-acre site is located in Thruway Park, a commercial development between West Henrietta and Erie Station roads. Staffing of the regional monitoring center will continue through June 2001 with the eventual hiring of 700 ADT professionals. ADT has operated an existing facility since 1991, which currently employs ~ 300 people. ADT anticipates the new facility will be open and operational by June 2000. (11/24)
Macedon-- A new road within the Monroe-Wayne Industrial Park has been completed allowing the park's owner, Robert Murphy, to open up 153 more acres of the portion of the park on Wayneport Road to businesses. Sixty-one acres on the corner of Wayneport Road and Route 31 have already been developed since the park was created approximately 15 years ago. According to the Wayne County Industrial Development Agency, the road was a joint venture of the town and Wayne County, with the county contributing $100,000 and Macedon contributing another $100,000 worth of services. (12/9)
Rochester-- Pfaudler Inc., a unit of Robbins & Myers Inc. that makes glass-lined equipment for industrial uses, plans to lease 20,000 square feet at the former 3M film-making complex at 1999 Mt. Read Blvd. Pfaudler, who currently employs 320 workers at its 1000 West Avenue plant, will move one division to Mt. Read. 1999 Mt. RB LLC, a new company run by David DelMonte, plans to spend $5 million to redevelop the 350,000 square-foot infrastructure at 1999 Mt. Read Boulevard into an industrial park. (11/5)
Rochester-- Rochester Gas and Electric Corp. plans to begin demolition of its former operations center at Front and Andrews streets within the next few weeks. The complex, which abuts the Genesee River has been vacant since 1994. The site will be converted into a parking lot, but RG&E intends to use to be temporary. In a 1992 memorandum of understanding between RG&E and the city, the utility agreed to demolish the Front Street structure and, at some later point, build a riverfront promenade. The agreement also calls for a land swap in which the city would trade Front Street for a comparable stretch of land directly abutting the river. (11/5)
Rochester-- Genesee Corp. is working on a deal to sell the Genesee Brewing Co. to Platiunum Holdings. Platinum Holdings bought the former Heileman brewery in La Crosse, Wisconsin for $10 million last summer. If Platinum Holdings takes over Genesee, it would move some production of its high-end products to the Wisconsin plant. The brewery employs approximately 470 workers here. It is unclear how many jobs, if any, would be lost if the sale is completed. Pabst Brewing Co., the nation's No. 4 brewer, announced it has reopened discussions to buy parts of the brewing operations. Genesee Corp is the nation's fifth-largest brewer, with sales of 1.5 million barrels last year. Net sales for the company's core Genesee Brewing Co. were $103.3 million in 1998, down 11.9% from the prior year. (12/2)
Victor-- Ontario Design Inc., a local exhibit marketing specialist, has been purchased by Exhibitgroup/Giltspur for an undisclosed amount of money. By the first of the year, the 16-year-old company, located at 580 Fishers Station Drive will move its operations and approximately 70 employees into Giltspur's Rochester facility at 1143 Lexington Avenue. Exhibitgroup/Giltspur currently employs approximately 50 people. No jobs will be lost as a result of the sale. (9/27, 10/13) go to top
3rd Quarter 1999
Batavia-- Nabisco plans to build a $2 million food warehouse and distribution facility in the Batavia Gateway Corporate Park. The town Planning Board unanimously approved initial plans for the 40,000 square-foot facility. Genesee County Industrial Development Agency stated the project would bring 15 full-time jobs to the area. Pending final approval, construction could begin this fall. (8/5)
Chili-- Luxottica Group SpA, which bought Bausch & Lomb Inc.'s sunglasses division for $640 million last month, will shut down Ray-Ban's research and development offices in Chili, eliminating ~ 125 jobs. The town has downgraded its assessment of the 465 Paul Road facility to $7 million due to sunglasses manufacturing being transferred out of the area. B&L sold the 300,000 square-foot building, to Buckingham Properties last year and centralized its sunglasses operations into three manufacturing and distributing centers - located in Hong Kong, Ireland, and San Antonio, Texas. (7/31)
Fishers-- Burleigh Instruments, a maker of scientific measuring systems, is spending $1 million to expand in Ontario County. The company plans to add 15,000 square feet to its 20,000 square-foot facility. The new space is to make room for engineering research and design. The expansion will bring 21 high-tech jobs to the area and make the company eligible for a $100,000 capital grant from Empire State Development. (6/30)
Gates-- Kodak is consolidating operations and leaving Elmgrove Park after 31 years. The move, which eliminates an estimated 500 jobs, is part of the plan the cut 8,800 jobs in the Rochester area. Kodak annually pays $1 million of Gates' $6.5 million tax levy, 15.4%, and more than $4 million in school taxes. Under a 1992 deal between Kodak and the town, Kodak has paid taxes on the 14-building facility based on a partial assessment. (7/23) The County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency will take $100,000 from its budget for a marketing campaign for the soon-to-be-vacant, 5.1 million square foot, Elmgrove plant. Kodak will spend $75,000, the state's Empire State Development Corp. will contribute $50,000, and Rochester Gas and Electric Corp. will spend $25,000. (8/12)
Rochester-- Thermal Systems of New York, a new local corporation, is planning to open a tire recycling facility on Cairn Street. The $20 million project would create 36 full-time jobs within eight months of completion. Thermal Systems would add on to an existing building on Cairn Street. Construction would start in April 2000 and last one year. The project requires planning and zoning board approval from the city of Rochester and approval for a tax-exempt bond from COMIDA. (7/21)
Rochester-- 1999 Mt. RB LLC, a new company run by David DelMonte, plans to spend $5 million to redevelop the former 3M film-making complex at 1999 Mt. Read Boulevard into an industrial park. The renovation of the four buildings on the 55-acre parcel is expected to create a minimum of 38 full-time jobs within three years of project completion next August. The project was approved for property tax abatements through the County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency's Jobs Plus program. (8/18)
Rochester-- The city of Rochester announced plans to sell the first parcel of land in the 14621 Industrial Park for $47,000 to German Machine Inc., a manufacturer of precision parts for office and medical machines. The company's move from its Hollenbeck Street facility will create 10 to 20 new jobs in the next three years. Construction will come in two phases: A 22,000 square-foot factory at an estimated cost of $800,000 is scheduled to begin in September. The second phase will include the construction of a 10,000 to 22,000 square-foot addition, within three years of the property sale closing. Companies who show preference in hiring to 14621 residents may qualify for state Economic Development Zone benefits. They include tax credits, tax abatements, sales tax refunds, and utility discounts up 30%. In addition, low interest loans and grants are available for purchase of real estate, equipment, and construction costs. (6/29)
Spencerport-- Hover-Davis Inc. announced plans to build a $5.8 million, 60,000 square-foot manufacturing and engineering plant in Ogden, creating approximately 150 jobs by 2003. Hover-Davis will break ground at the Westover Center Industrial Park next spring and expects to open the new building by October 2000. The company will close its two other local facilities - a 15,000 square-foot building at 10 Turner Dr and a 13,000 square-foot building at 65 Elmgrove Road. The 10-year-old company has been approved for a $500,000 Empire State Development Corp. grant for training and infrastructure. Monroe County's economic development department has authorized a $125,000 low-interest loan. (7/10)
Webster-- Trident Precision Manufacturing has received property tax abatement approval for a planned $1.4 million, 33,750 square-foot plant addition on 13 acres at 734 Salt Road. The project will result in the creation of 21 full-time jobs at the 155-employee company. Construction is to begin in mid-September and end in January. (8/18)
Webster-- Developer, William Boulter received Planning Board approval to build a 40,000 square-foot industrial facility on 9.7-acres near 1750 Boulter Industrial Parkway. The building would be the site of a light assembly plant that could employ about 25 people. Boulter must obtain Town Board approval before the project can proceed. (7/14)
2nd Quarter 1999
Avon-- DP Tool & Machine Shop, a Honeoye Falls company, plans to relocate their shop at the Avon Crossroads Industrial Park along Route 5 and 20. The family-run business employs about 40 and plans to increase to 50 workers. DP Tool is a general machine shop that builds specialty machinery and does short-run production work. Rochester Skid Exchange, a small family-owned wooden pallet manufacturer, is also planning on relocating to the town. The company will buy the old Industrial Ceramics building on Routes 5 and 20 east of the village of Lima. Tax breaks and easy access to major highways were cited as reasons for the relocations. (5/12)
Avon-- Metalade Inc. of Commerce Avenue in Henrietta plans to spend approximately $4 million to move its operations to the East Avon strip mall. Metalade plans to buy the 17.2 acres on which the strip mall sits and make extensive repairs and renovations to the 99,000 square-foot facility. The strip mall is located on Routes 5 and 20, just west of Route 15. (3/29)
Canandaigua-- Tenneco Packaging plans to build an 800,000 square-foot distribution center next to its manufacturing facility on North Street. The center will create approximately 150 new jobs over a two-year period - 50 warehouse-type jobs and 100 jobs at the manufacturing plant. The new facility is scheduled to be completed in mid-2000. The company is currently in the process of a $5.6 million expansion of the Brickyard Road complex, consolidating its research and development operation and creating another 150 jobs. (5/19)
Canandaigua-- Jaran Aerospace Corp. is pushing back a July deadline for its move to the Canandaigua Airport because of financial shortfalls. The Ballston Spa airplane manufacturer stated they hadn't met financial expectations from its airplane manufacturing. Jaran received a $200,000 loan from the Ontario County Industrial Development Agency as part of an incentive package to relocate here. The company expects to employ more than 500 people within the next ten years. Jason Wolnek, CEO of Jaran, endorsed an IDA plan to build a parallel taxiway next to its airport runway. The IDA has received an $801,000 federal grant the taxiway. Construction is scheduled to begin this summer. (5/5)
Gates-- Gallina Development Corp. has received final approval to build a new industrial park called Elmgrove Crossings on 140 acres of land adjacent to Eastman Kodak Co. The total "built-out" value of the industrial park is expected to be more than $30 million. Gallina plans to subdivide the 91 usable acres into 23 various sized lots that could house anywhere from five to 23 buildings, depending on the interested companies' needs. In the first phase of development, eight to ten parcels will be improved and should be ready by the end of the year. This site should support buildings ranging from 10,000 to 900,000 square feet. According to the Rochester Business Journal's top 25 list of Class A office parks, Elmgrove will be among the larger parks in the Rochester area. (3/19)
Gates-- Eastman Kodak Co. is reversing years of expansion at its 770-acre Elmgrove manufacturing site in an attempt to lower its costs. Kodak pays $32 million a year in taxes and upkeep for 5.1 million square feet of manufacturing, storage, and distribution space in 14 buildings. In an attempt to become more cost effective, Kodak plans to sell land, lease three vacant buildings, and centralize assembly of lower-selling products to allow for the demolition of two buildings. As part of an agreement between Gates and Kodak, the property is assessed at $16 million, roughly 17% of the town's total assessment of $97 million. ((5/14, 6/13)
Henrietta-- ABB Instrumentation announced plans to close part of its local operations and eliminate about 115 jobs. Employees of the company's instrumentation division will lose their jobs at the end of September. ABB's Control Product Division, a unit that develops software and employs about 250 people, will remain in the John Street manufacturing facility. Since 1991, ABB has received $1.1 million in tax abatements from the County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency. The company has volunteered to return the $1.1 million to the county, Henrietta, and the Rush-Henrietta Central School District. (5/12)
Heniretta-- ADT Security Services Inc. will construct a new $14 million, 44,000 square-foot Customer Care Center on a nine-acre site at Thruway Park. The project will crate 700 jobs and provide computer-based security service to homes and businesses throughout the northeast. ADT has operated an existing facility since 1991, which currently employs ~ 300 people. ADT anticipates the new facility will be open and operational by June 2000. ADT has annual sales of $1.4 billion and serves two million residential and commercial customers throughout North America and Europe. (4/12)
Honeoye-- Stone Construction, an employee-owned company, is seeking site plan approval for a 48,000 square-foot addition at its 85,000 square-foot building on Main Street. The proposed addition would be built behind the current building, on the north side of the property. The Ontario County Industrial Development Agency is planning tax breaks to help with the expansion. The IDA will hold title to the property where the addition is built for 10 years, and the company will lease it from the agency during that time. During the 10-year lease period, property taxes are graduated. (3/17)
Rochester-- Danka Services International signed a letter of intent to sell its outsourcing company to London-based equity investment firm Schroder Ventures. The 300 local employees will keep their jobs, as well as the firm's 3,000 staff worldwide. Terms of the agreement require the firm to vacate its 30,000 square-foot site at Kodak's Elmgrove plant. Danka expects to add approximately 30 additional employees by year's end. Schroder Ventures is one of the world's leading private equity providers, with $3.5 billion in funds under management. Danka Services International recorded more than $275 in revenues for 1998. They generated ~ 10% in earnings from operations. (3/26)
Rochester-- The University of Rochester has solicited proposals from developers to build and operate a new, efficient gas-fired electricity-generating plant that would sell inexpensive power to UR and other big institutional users. University officials have selected a proposal by ABB Power Generation Inc. of Richmond, Va., which now is conducting a feasibility study for the ~ 100 megawatt plant. Rochester Gas and Electric is aware of the UR/ABB proposal and fully supports competition and an open market. (3/19)
Victor-- Burleigh Instruments Inc., which designs and manufactures precise scientific instruments, is expanding its 20,000 square-foot building at 7647 Main Street. The expansion is expected to create 45 high-tech jobs over the next three years. The company will use funding from the state and from Ontario County's Industrial Development Agency to help pay for the 15,000 square-foot expansion. The IDA will provide abatements in the form of mortgage tax exemptions, property tax breaks, and exemptions on sales and use taxes. (5/24)
Webster-- PSC Inc. announced it will eliminate 120 of the 200 to 225 jobs as part of their reorganization plan adopted in 1997. In addition to the job cuts, PSC is tranferring eight people from Webster to Oregon and reassigning 20 others to new jobs. The consolidation will save the company $1.5 million a year, which will be reinvested partly in research and development. The company estimates first-quarter earnings at 22 to 25 cents a share, or $2.5 million to $3 million. (3/20)
1st Quarter 1999
East Rochester-- GRA Inc., announced plans to relocate its business from Monroe Avenue in Pittsford to 465 W. Commercial Street. The 47,000 square-foot building is about double the size of its current site. The business has approximately 25 employees and plans to expand to ~ 40 employees. The zoning and planning boards approved new loading docks and the reorganization of parking to make room for large trucks. Frank Perticone, owner of the former Sofas & Chairs building, plans to redo the façade of the vacant building. (12/20)
East Rochester-- The Planning and Architectural Review Board approved plans to expand the E.J. Del Monte Corp. corporate headquarters. The company will put an 11,000 square-foot addition on the front of its building at 909 Linden Avenue. The company manufactures Delcret Building Systems. The three-story addition is needed because the company has outgrown its 130,000 square-foot facility. Del Monte Corp. expects to create 50 new jobs within the next year. The building has been expanded at least four times since it was built in the 1970s. (12/16)
Farmington-- A proposed expansion of Tenneco Packaging Corp. would add 33 jobs over the next three years. The expansion is geared to the packaging company's Slide-Rite product, a zippered feature that's used on flexible packaging. The company, whose division headquarters are in Lake Forest, Ill., is negotiating to buy a manufacturing facility on Plaster Mill Road. The building is currently being used as a warehouse. The IDA is applying for $600,000 in federal funding to help finance the expansion. The overall cost of the project is $4.6 million, which includes equipment purchasing and fabrication. (1/27)
Farmington-- Unisys Worldwide Telesales Services on Collett Drive will be eliminating between 40 and 50 jobs. The cutbacks, primarily in financial administration, are part of Unisys' plan to streamline its operations. Some employees will be offered early retirement, others will be offered jobs at other Unisys sites or given help in finding jobs outside the company. Approximately 250 people work at the Farmington site. Unisys moved into the former Videk building in 1995, signing a 5½ year lease to occupy 51,000 square feet of the 70,000 square-foot, multi-million-dollar facility that had been empty for more than a year. (2/9)
Gates-- COMIDA - County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency has granted tax breaks to Dayton Rogers Corp. of Rochester. Dayton plans to build a 45,000 square foot, $3 million facility for metal stamping on Manitou Road. (1/20)
Henrietta-- Rochester Institute of Technology has withdrawn its application for a zoning change from residential to industrial on 181 acres of land at the corner of John Street and Bailey Road. RIT wanted to attract a microchip manufacturing or fabrication factory to the site, which would create about 5,000 jobs for Monroe County. In addition, a fully developed chip factory would contribute $2 million in taxes annually to the Rush-Henrietta Central School District and about $150,000 annually to the town. The university plans to submit a new application after listening to town officials and neighbors. Upon obtaining Town Board approval to change the lot's zoning, RIT would then need two special-use permits to proceed with the project. (12/16)
Henrietta-- Konar Enterprises was granted a permit to build a 45,825 square-foot office facility on Thruway Park Drive. It will be located at the future intersection of Erie Station Road and Thruway Park Drive. The permit is required because the business, ADT Call Center, is a commercial operation, and the nine-acre parcel is zoned as industrial. ADT Security Systems, based in Boca Raton, Fla., will receive $2 million in state grants and tax credits for the expansion. The company, which employs 200 workers in a center on Summit Point Drive, will move to the new f$11 million customer call center by September. The company has committed to employing 500 people there by June 2000 and an additional 200 by the following June. ADT, with $1.4 billion in annual sales and 13,000 employees, does around-the-clock monitoring of commercial and residential security systems from customer centers across the country. (1/20,2/20,3/10)
Henrietta-- A U.S. Bankruptcy Court approved the $1.785 million bid of two Western New York entrepreneurs, Brian Geary, an attorney for Danka Business Systems PLC, and Christopher Collins, of Clarence, N.Y., for Quaker Maid/Bloch Industries Inc. The company located at 140 Commerce Drive, manufactures kitchen and bathroom cabinets, including the Quaker Maid line. The business has been under financial stress since the company's owner committed suicide amid a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation. Bloch had nearly 20 liens filed against it, and although most have been resolved, the sale cannot be completed until written consent is obtained from the parties who continue to make a claim against the business. (2/10,2/12)
Henrietta-- Hammer Lithograph Corp. is building a $4 million, 90,000 square-foot plant on land bought from Rochester Institute of Technology in an industrial park next to the school. Last year, Monroe County and New York state offered ~ $1 million in aid and incentives over 10 years to Hammer, including a $500,000 state grant, to keep it here. (1/12)
Honeoye-- Alstom Transportation Inc. plans to build a new $7 million - $10 million factory if it wins a contract for building rail cars for the Long Island Rail Road. The planned expansion may bring 1,200 new jobs to New York State over the next three years. Alstom now employs 1,200 people at its Henrietta, Hornell, and Hawthorne facilities. (2/17)
Palmyra-- The Paul T. Freund Corp. plans to invest approximately $4.5 million into equipment and upgrades at its 216 Park Drive plant and a new 35,000 square-foot facility on Division Street. The new building located in the Division Street Industrial Park will be used for its box-folding operation and will add 70 jobs over the next five years. The box firm, located in the town since 1906, had considered moving out of state. They received incentives of ~ $500,000 in grants and tax breaks to remain. The town will apply for a $400,000 federal grant to help pay for the sewer system at the industrial park. (1/31)
Penfield-- Linden Tech developer John Smith was granted a building permit by the town to start work on a 54,000 square-foot computer-assembly plant in Allen's Creek Valley. Ormec Systems Corp. and Smith's company, Ntrinsic, are slated to move in when the building is complete. The Allen's Creek/Corbett's Glen Preservation Group is appealing the decision by the state Supreme Court upholding Penfield's 1996 approval of the project. (1/15)
Rochester-- Danka Business Systems Plc announced that ~ 450 administrative and operations employees will lose their jobs during the next two months as the company begins to restructure after its failed copier deal with Eastman Kodak Co. Danka, which once employed nearly 1,400 workers in Rochester, will be left with between 350 and 450 employees after the latest cuts. The layoffs come as Danka prepares to reveal details of a larger company wide restructuring that could include cutting jobs and selling off divisions. The company does not expect additional layoffs here. (1/23)
Webster-- The County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency granted tax breaks to Imaging Realty Group LLC. The company is spending $3.9 million to renovate the former Thomson Publishing facility at Publishers Parkway for Xerox Corp.'s Channels Group. Xerox will lease ~ 120,000 square feet of space in the building for 180 full time employees and 120 contract workers; the workers are now at various sites around Monroe County. (1/20)
4th Quarter 1998
Avon-- Construction has begun on Avon Crossroads Industrial Park at Interstate 390 and Routes 5 and 20. Three businesses will move to the 20-acre plot; 10 acres of which are still vacant. Accessibility to (routes) 5 and 20, 15 and (Interstate) 390 was the main reason Lakeland Equipment Corp., Champagne Specialties, and Monroe Industries all chose the park. At least one of the new buildings is expected to be completed by the end of 1998. (11/2)
Brockport-- Petsmart Inc. plans to build a 100,000 square-foot addition to its existing 180,000 square-foot facility on Transit Way at an estimated cost of $4.5 million. The Arizona-based Petsmart was offered $2.5 million in local, county and state incentives to stay. The Empire State Development Corp. gave Petsmart a $1 million capital grant, a $750,000 job creation grant and $250,000 training grant. The company will also receive local property and sales tax abatements worth ~ $500,000. The pet supply distribution facility, which currently employs ~ 650 full and part-time workers, plans to add 500 jobs over the next five years. (9/30)
Canandaigua-- Canandaigua Brands Inc. plans to acquire Matthew Clark, a London operation that produces, distributes and sells alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages for $360 million. Matthew Clark reported $927 million in total sales and $60 million in profits before taxes. According to Canandaigua Brands, net assets are listed as $160 million. Canandaigua Brands plans to use bank financing for the acquisition, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The acquisition will have no impact on Canandaigua Wine operations. (11/3)
Chili-- The Cornerstone Group has acquired the balance of acreage that is available at Jetview Business Park. Jetview is located off of Paul Road across from Rochester International Commerce Center (RICC) adjacent to the airport. The 70 acres of industrial zoned land is expected to complement RICC. The zoning provides for warehouse, distribution, and light assembly uses. (9/29)
Gates-- Rochester based, Gallina Development Corp. has obtained preliminary subdivision approval for a 23-lot industrial park on Elmgrove Road. Elmgrove Crossings would be on 91 acres of a 140-acre site across from Eastman Kodak Co.'s Elmgrove facility. The industrial park would house small to medium size companies involved in light manufacturing, office warehousing, or distribution. The development is a three phased project, with completion anticipated over a five-year period. (Fall 1998, 10/1)
Henrietta-- Rochester Institute of Technology has applied for a zoning change from residential to industrial on 181 acres of land at the corner of John Street and Bailey Road. RIT wants to attract a microchip manufacturing or fabrication factory to the site, which would create about 5,000 jobs for Monroe County. Upon obtaining Town Board approval to change the lot's zoning, RIT would then need two special-use permits to proceed with the project. The state is offering $50,000 in matching funds for preparing environmental impact statements and paying legal costs. (10/14, 10/21)
Honeoye Falls-- Rochester Lumber Co. announced it will close its retail store and focus its business on professional home builders and contractors. Approximately 80% of the company's business is with contractors. The affected employees will be offered jobs at stores in the Rochester area. (10/30)
Manchester-- Great Lakes Kraut Co. has received approval to proceed with the proposed 65,000 square foot expansion project at their Clark Street Plant. They have agreed to construct a two-way access road connecting its facility to Walters Lane or County Road 13. In addition, they will construct a 6-foot high stockade fence to serve as a buffer for neighboring homes. Ontario County Industrial Development Agency has agreed to help finance the $2.8 million expansion project. Great Lakes Kraut employs 114 people, with 45 additional full-time and seasonal jobs projected over the next three years. (10/3)
Medina-- Genesee Corp. is negotiating to purchase the former Fisher-Price Inc. / Mattel Inc. factory. Genesee plans to reopen the 340,000 square foot factory as a manufacturing and distribution center for its Ontario Foods Inc. division. Ontario Foods currently is using a 250,000 square-foot facility in Albion; its lease is due to expire in April 2000. Ontario Foods employs 140 full-time hourly workers with plans to hire 35 to 40 additional staff after the relocation. Genesee is expected to receive assistance from the Empire State Development Corp., Orleans County Industrial Development Agency and New York Power Authority. (10/2)
Ogden-- Transmation Inc., a maker and distributor of electronic measurement and calibration equipment, will consolidate manufacturing operations now in Rochester and Henrietta at a new 27,000 square-foot, single story masonry building. The company expects to move into the new facility, located at 35 Vantage Point Drive by April 1, 1999. The new facility will be leased on a long-term basis from Gallina Development Corp. of Rochester. Transmation will employ approximately 100 people in the new facility (10/15)
Perry-- Samuel Gullo, a local business owner, has purchased the 220,000 sq. ft. Champion Products Inc. plant from Champion parent Sara Lee Corp. Gullo pursued the purchase with the avid assistance of Wyoming County officials, who helped arrange a low-interest loan through the Wyoming County Industrial Development Agency. The company's 110 jobs will stay indefinitely, with Champion leasing roughly 65,000 square feet from Gullo to house the operation. (10/2)
Rochester-- Monroe Litho Inc. was awarded $2.6 million by the federal government to help build a new 100,000 square foot plant in the Erie Canal Industrial Park near Frontier Field. The money, coming in the form of grants and loan guarantees, will be used to finance the purchase of new equipment for an $8.7 million plant that the commercial printing company would build on seven acres along Oak Street. Monroe Litho would be the first company to build a new plant in the Industrial Park. The company currently employs 105 people at its Delevan Street plant and plans to create 150 jobs at the new facility. (11/25)
Webster-- Gallina Development has broken ground on the new 6,450 square foot distribution center for the Democrat and Chronicle on Phillips Road. The new center will provide a more modern, convenient facility for the growing circulation needs in the areas of Penfield, Webster, and vicinity. Completion for the new facility is expected for December 1, 1998. (Fall 1998)
3rd Quarter 1998
Penfield-- A stop-work order was issued to developer Linden Associates, for attempting to do construction work beyond what was authorized by the town. Construction on the Linden Tech project has ceased pending a decision of a lawsuit filed against the Penfield Planning Board by Allens Creek/Corbett's Glen Preservation Group in state Supreme Court. The lawsuit is one of several suits the preservation group has filed in an attempt to stop the Linden Tech project. Plans are under way for construction of the first structure - a 54,000 square-foot, two-story Ormec Systems plant. (7/19)
Rochester-- According to the Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority, the block of East Main Street from St. Paul Street to North Clinton Avenue has been selected as a potential site for a central bus facility. The proposed bus terminal is intended to serve as a hub for RGRTA buses and for private long-haul bus lines such as Greyhound and Bluebird. The agency has obtained $25 million in federal transportation funds and is attempting to secure $5 million in state money for its construction. (8/7)
Seneca Falls-- Specter Inc. of Waverly, Tenn. Will begin construction on an $8 million aluminum recycling plant on a 25-acre parcel at the southeast corner of Lamb Road and Routes 5 and 20. The project will include offices, a 120,000 square-foot plant, and a railroad spur. The recycling plant will employ an estimated 50 to 60 people on the construction project and will provide 30 new jobs in village. Specter was offered a reduction in utility rates by New York State Electric and Gas Corp. plus incentives by New York State, the village of Seneca Falls, and the Seneca County Industrial Development Agency. (9/11)
Victor-- Kodak Polychrome Graphics has signed a five year office lease for 24,000 square feet at the former Rosa & Sullivan building, located at the corner of Route 96 and Fishers Road. Polychrome, based in Fairfield County, Conn., plans to renovate the building and utilize ~ 75% of the space for phone surveys. (8/17)
Webster-- Xerox will move 400 people from offices in East Rochester and Henrietta to the former Thomson Legal Publishing offices at Five Mile Line Road and Route 104. Xerox will lease about 75,000 square feet at the Thomson building, not far from the company's campus at Phillips Road. The document company is consolidating workers in its new "channels" division. The moves are scheduled to be made by the end of the year. (8/12)
2nd Quarter 1998
Brighton-- Peoples Pottery, Inc. will move their headquarters into a leased 60,000 square-foot warehouse located on Townline Circle. Peoples Pottery operates mall-based craft stores in the Northeastern U.S. Wilray of Rochester, Inc. is the owner/landlord of this location, which will be the main distribution center supplying crafts to all stores. (4/28-5/11)
Cananadaigua-- The Xerox plant, located in the Centerpointe Business Park, is being restructured and the company is looking to add more manufacturing space, possibly in Farmington. An undetermined number of salaried employees may be moved to its main office in Webster. No jobs will be lost, but union employees will be shifted from the corporation's Advanced Microfabrication Technology at Xerox operation to its ink-jet business. The ink-jet business and AMTX both are housed at Xerox's Canandaigua facility. (6/12)
Chili-- Bausch & Lomb, Inc. has sold its former sunglasses plant to Buckingham Properties, a local property management firm, which will lease half of the space back to B&L and seek new industrial tenants for the rest of the building. The assessed value of the 300,000 square-foot building at 465 Paul Road is $7 million. B&L currently employs ~ 200 workers at the Chili facility. The sale closed on 6/26/98 for an indicated consideration of $4,985,000. (5/28)
Chili-- The Saunders Group, a maker and distributor of photographic and darkroom equipment that employs about 100 people, has been acquired by Tiffen Manufacturing Co. of Long Island. Chili-based Saunders has two facilities on Jet View Drive. CEO Steve Tiffen stated the company plans to expand manufacturing on Long Island and shift other elements of the business to the Rochester area. The entire work force will remain in the Rochester area and will expand soon. (5/1)
Fairport-- The New York Power Authority announced that Moll Industries will move from Gates to Fairport, get low-cost power from the state and triple its employment. The plastic injection-molding company, 769 Trabold Road, is planning to move to a new 72,000 square-foot plant at Perinton Industrial Estates. The $3.5 million expansion will allow Moll to increase employment from 27 to 82. Moll will get a discounted 2,000-kilowatt allocation from the power authority. (5/29)
Farmington-- Northeast Coating Service Corp. plans to open a 50,000 square foot facility on 9.9 acres on the south side of Collett Road between Hook Road and Corporate Drive. The company specializes in custom coating applications for such companies as Xerox, IBM, and Kodak. Northeast expects to employ 30 people and expand to 100 within five years. The town's director of development, said the town expects at least three more industries to move into the area, creating a major industrial corridor stretching from Collett Road to Route 96 along Route 332. (6/11)
Farmington-- Printer Components, a subsidiary of Floturn Inc., has proposed a plant on an 8.5 acre parcel on Canning Parkway, north of Route 251. The company is a leader in the manufacturing of parts for printers and will sell parts to Xerox. As many as 50 manufacturing jobs will be created, with another 50 added as part of a planned expansion. (6/12)
Greece-- Flower City Printing Co. has decided to stay in Greece and will undergo a multimillion-dollar expansion, adding more than 100 new jobs. Flower City is eligible for $500,000 in state capital grants and more than $1 million in financial assistance from the County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency. Plans include spending $5 million on a new printing press and up to $4 million on a new warehouse. The printing company generates about $30 million in annual revenue with a work force of 170, with plans to increase to 300 within three years. (4/14)
Honeoye Falls-- General Motors Corp. announced plans to open a new research center in a vacant building at 10 Carriage St. The center will be part of GM's worldwide development of a power system for an electric car and will employ ~ 55 people, with the number increasing to 100 over three years. GM currently employs about 500 at its engineering center located at 5500 West Henrietta Road. The owner of the Carriage St. property is expected to spend $6.5 million on renovations and is seeking a sale-leaseback deal with COMIDA. (6/14)
Ogden-- Gretag Imaging, manufacturer of high speed photo processors, will take occupancy in a 42,340 square-foot building at 50 Vantage Point Drive. Vantage Point Business Centre is a light business park development consisting of ten buildings, totaling ~ 340,000 square-feet of office, manufacturing, and warehouse space. Approximately 40 employees will be moving to the Vantage Point facility. (4/28-5/11)
Palmyra-- Pal Energy Corp. recent merger with AllEnergy Marking Co., of Massachusetts is expected to bring more growth and offer new services to area residents. The new venture will allow PAL Energy to offer residents an alternative power company to New York State Electric and Gas Corp. The company's local operations and its head office will remain unchanged. (4/6)
Penfield-- Planning Board approval has been given for Linden Associates to build a 54,000 square-foot computer assembly plant off of Linden Road near Corbett's Glen. The Ormec Systems plant is one of five two-story buildings planned for the 27-acre sit in Brighton and Penfield. The Allens Creek/Corbett's Glen Preservation Group has filed a lawsuit challenging the town Planning Board decision. (5/6)
Perinton-- Webster Plastics, a custom injection molder for the automotive, industrial, and consumer markets, has moved to a 75,000 square-foot facility located on a 167-acre site in Perinton Industrial Estates. Increased sales and manufacturing output necessitated the need for a larger more advanced manufacturing facility. (4/22)
Perinton-- The Planning Board granted permission to Parlec Inc. to add 33,260 square feet to its existing site at 101 Perinton Parkway. Parlec's facility in Perinton Industrial Estates is the company's only manufacturing plant. Parlec reported gross sales have grown to $26 million and the company employs about 200 people. The expansion will include a face-lift for the building. (5/13)
Rochester-- Wehle Electric Co. may be moving out of its 28,000 square-foot facility at 1850 Mt. Read Blvd. and handing the lease over to Mercury Print Productions Inc. The transfer, approved by the County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency, would be part of an expansion for Mercury Print. The commercial printing company - which employs 230 people and had $10.4 million in 1997 sales - also plans to add 35,000 square feet to its plant on Holleder Parkway. (5/20)
Rochester-- Acquest Holding Inc., a Buffalo property development firm, has purchased the Lincoln Plant formerly operated by Eastman Kodak. The 450,000 square foot plant at 121 Lincoln Avenue transferred from the U.S. government to Lincoln Park Associates LLC for $220,000. The Buffalo firm has renamed the facility the Lincoln Avenue Business Park, and plans to lease it to a variety of light-industrial, office and warehouse tenants. The plant sits in a New York State Economic Development Zone. (4.3)
Webster-- Jostens Inc., a photographic processing plant, will close its door by August. The Minneapolis-based company, which specializes in class rings and other school-related momentos, will shift its photography business to a single plant in Winnipeg, Canada. The plant employs 168 workers, 108 of them full-time, and 230 seasonal workers in its peak months. The closing is part of the restructuring plan by publicly held Jostens. The company will a take a $3 million pretax charge for the plant closing. (5/1)
1st Quarter 1998
Gates-- Eastman Kodak has decided to vacate two of the 13 buildings at its Elmgrove Road Plant and to consolidate operations into fewer locations as part of its restructuring plan. Plans call for a large fraction of the 3,300 local job cuts to come from the 10,000 workers at the Elmgrove facility. Most of the Elmgrove reorganization will be complete by the end of the year and all of it by April 1999. (1/21)
Henrietta-- Hammer Lithograph Corp. plans to build a new $4 million, 90,000 square-foot plant in Henrietta. The plant site is on land purchased from Rochester Institute of Technology, in an industrial park adjacent to the school. Hammer will receive a $500,000 capital grant from the state, a 15%-20% discount on electricity from the New York Power Authority, and is eligible for property tax abatements over 10 years through the County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency. . The 85-year-old Brighton printing company had $30.5 million in sales last year. (3/25)
Henrietta-- SASIB Railway, the Italian conglomerate that owns General Railway Signal Corp. has sold all their railway equipment businesses to a French company for a reported sale price of $190 million. GRS employs about 540 people, most of them at its headquarters and plant in Henrietta. The buyer, GEC Alsthom N.V. of Paris, is one of Europe's largest makers of transportation equipment. General Railway Signal is one of Rochester's oldest companies. (1/9)
Henrietta-- Getinge/Castle, a worldwide leading manufacturer and provider of disinfection and sterilization equipment announced plans to relocated its corporate headquarters to Henrietta. The company employs 850 people across the country, with almost 400 employees at the Henrietta plant. With projected sales of more than $130 million, Getinge/Castle is on track to end the year with a 10% increase in sales. (1/7)
Manchester-- The Ontario County Industrial Development Agency has agreed to help finance a $2.8 million, 65,000 square foot expansion project at the Great Lakes Kraut plant on Clark Street. The plant is on the Shortsville village border in the town of Manchester. Great Lakes Kraut's facilities in Gorham, Seneca Castle and in Waterport in Orleans County would be shut down. Workers at those sites will be offered jobs in Manchester. Great Lakes Kraut employs 114 people, with 45 full-time and seasonal jobs projected to be added over the next three years. (1/27)
Newark-- Wayne County Industrial Development Agency has extended its offer to purchase the 217-acre Stuart Park site on Route 88 from Eastman Kodak Co. The property is assessed at $3.25 million. Under the arrangement, the agency will lease the property for 10 years to Ultralife Batteries and Silver Hill Associates. After that, the companies will own it. Ultralife, which leases 120,000 square feet in one of three buildings on the property, is expected to move into two other buildings. Silver Hill Associates will occupy the former Sarah Coventry building. Ultralife employs 400 people and expects to add 600 more jobs in the next decade - 225 of them in three years, increasing the payroll by $7.3 million to $15.4 million. (1/5)
Ogden-- Developer, Richard Gilmore has applied to have 17 acres off Manitou Road rezoned from residential to light industrial so he can build an industrial park. Maingate Development Inc. proposes to build the park behind five houses with an access road between two of them. The plan includes eight buildings ranging in size from 5,500 square feet to 10,800 square feet. (2/14)
Penfield-- The Linden Tech Industrial Park, a light industrial complex, has received final approval from the Planning Review Board. The 20.3-acre site, situated in the towns of Penfield and Brighton, has been the subject of a legal dispute over environmental issues for nearly four years. Linden Associates is planning to build a 54,000 square-foot computer assembly plant off of Linden Road near Corbett's Glen. (1/15)
Perinton-- Construction is currently underway on the new office and manufacturing facility for Rochester based Webster Plastics. Webster Plastics, who will lease the facility on a long-term basis, is a custom injection molder owned by U.K. based Bunzl PLC. The facility will be located on a 167-acre site in Perinton Industrial Estates. (1/27-2/16)
Perinton-- Webster Plastics, which employs 150 people, has been sold for an undisclosed amount by Bunzl PLC of London, England, to Acadia Elastromers Corp. of Roanoke, Va. The sale comes just before the company moves from a 70,000 square-foot plant at 841 Holt Road to a new 70,000 square-foot facility at Perinton Industrial Estates off Route 31F. The company was founded in Rochester in 1946 and acquired by Bunzl in 1989. Annual sales are ~ $25 million. (2/27)
Perry-- Champion Products announced it will move most of its sewing operation from its Perry facility to Chihuahua, Mexico. The move will slash the number of jobs at the Wyoming County facility by 345, leaving 125 workers. Officials stated the move was necessary for the company to remain competitive. Employees losing their jobs will be offered outplacement support and will receive a severance package. (2/20)
Rochester-- Rochester Gas and Electric Corp. plans to shut