Honoring Steve DiMeo by championing regional projects

Earlier this year, our region suffered a tremendous loss with the passing of Mohawk Valley EDGE President Steve DiMeo. He was the guiding force behind EDGE, Marcy Nanocenter, Griffiss Business & Technology Park, and countless other projects that have led to massive growth and success. His leadership and vision were unparalleled to all those who came before him. Steve was never afraid to take risks. If he were still alive today, we at Mohawk Valley EDGE all believe his message to us would be the same: Be a champion for this region. He would want us to keep moving forward, be relentless, trust each other, and our abilities to go after regional projects.

Laser focused on the semiconductor industry

So where do we go from here? The answer from EDGE is: forward. Steady progress is happening at the Marcy Nanocenter, where Wolfspeed continues its growth and production, which supports the increasing demand for electric vehicles, 4G/5G markets, and the establishment of a semiconductor-manufacturing corridor in New York state and along the east coast. We are excited to see the commitment of both New York State Green CHIPs program and the federal CHIPs Act to shore up our domestic supply chain to meet the needs of the 21st-century economy, with thousands of jobs expected in the next several years with Micron, Semikron Danfoss, Indium, and Wolfspeed. In July, Kevin Younis of Empire State Development spoke at the SEMICON West conference in San Francisco about New York State’s semiconductor industry’s growth, touting Micron and Wolfspeed, detailing how New York is quickly becoming one of the leaders in semiconductor manufacturing in the country. To do so, however, EDGE will work closely with New York State to create and build a more direct pipeline of workers and launch initiatives such as ON-RAMP to foster workforce development to help meet the needs of thousands of new jobs in advanced manufacturing. We aim to work with all levels of educators from K-12, as well as our local colleges and universities to ensure they have the tools needed to educate, train, recruit, and support students entering this fast-evolving job market.

Supply chain growth touches all regions, especially Oneida County

For the Mohawk Valley region, Marcy Nanocenter is a perfect location meeting for supply chain growth, with construction officially underway at Flex Space at Marcy Nanocenter. The Flex Space is a 60,000-square-foot facility to provide needed storage, including about 20,000 square feet for Semikron Danfoss, housed just adjacent to the Nanocenter at the Quad-C Facility at the SUNY Polytechnic Institute. Mohawk Valley EDGE received $14 million from New York State through the FAST NY program to develop the second-tier section of the Marcy site beneath Wolfspeed, further building the ecosystem necessary to support the supply chain for semiconductor manufacturing, with construction already underway with an expected completion date of 2025. In addition, there is significant excitement around the 332-acre Triangle Site at the Griffiss International Airport in Rome, where $23.6 million in FAST NY Funds were also awarded to Oneida County to develop a semiconductor supply chain campus. A significant part of this project includes electrical upgrades, providing up to 50 megawatts of power, which is in considerable demand throughout the Upstate region to bring more prominent manufacturers to the area. This demand will only increase, so having it available will be part of our strategic vision to attract new businesses in the future. This site is one of New York state’s largest shovel-ready site, potentially creating up to 3,000 new jobs. A tremendous thank you to all our local partners, especially Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente, Jr., who has provided EDGE with significant investments in these transformational projects. In addition, we applaud the efforts by such groups as Griffiss Local Development Corporation (GLDC), C&S Companies, and the City of Rome for working together to move forward critical infrastructure and transportation upgrades that will make this site a premier semiconductor supply chain, perfectly positioned between Micron and Wolfspeed.

New life at St. Luke’s Healthcare campus at MVHS

We saw a significant effort finally come to fruition in October 2023, when doors to the new Wynn Hospital in downtown Utica finally opened, signaling the beginning of the consolidation of several Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) facilities into one main center for healthcare for the region. The majority of the former Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare campus is now being looked at for redevelopment, with Mohawk Valley EDGE, Oneida County, MVHS, and the Town of New Hartford joining forces to create a master plan for the best usage of this 53-acre site that has held multiple public information and engagement sessions to study, identify, and implement a strategy that benefits the community for generations to come.

Continued cleanup for brownfield sites in Oneida County

Mohawk Valley EDGE has continued its progress in remediating contaminated areas of Oneida County through the help of federal funding secured by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer. In May, EDGE received $500,000 in EPA Brownfields Community-Wide Assessment grant program funds to focus on multiple sites, including St. Luke’s, the former Rome Cable Tower Site, the Ethan Allen furniture plant in Boonville, with an additional 12 sites potentially in the works for environmental assessment. The staff at EDGE are confident that about half of these sites will spin off into new, distinct projects that will further our growth.

Supporting Boonville with New York Forward grant

There is great optimism in the Village of Boonville after receiving a $4.5 million grant from New York State in the second round of the New York Forward program. Much like the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI), the New York Forward program targets smaller municipalities like Boonville to assist with planning and strategic vision to help increase economic opportunities in their downtown corridor. EDGE will support Boonville’s local planning committees and guide them along the way so that each project submission fits within the committee’s master plan for future growth, highlighting Boonville’s historic past while cultivating new areas for development. We thank the Mohawk Valley Economic Development Regional Council for its leadership in providing these funds to communities making strides to realize their long-term visions.

Small-business expansion

Our business-outreach efforts continue to be essential to our strategic vision. We are continuing our efforts with $200,000 in microenterprise-grant assistance working alongside Oneida County. In addition, we will leverage the efforts of partners at Mohawk Valley regional office of Empire State Development to assist other businesses through Round 14 of the Regional Economic Development Council’s (REDC) Consolidated Funding Application. Through our small-business networks, our chambers of commerce, local governments, and educational institutions, we follow the evolving job market and economy and put the pieces of the puzzle together to move our region out of the post-pandemic economy. EDGE is also partnering with ESD on its Semiconductor Growth Access Program Application (SGAP) to help small businesses enter the supply chain industry. A new endeavor will be leveraging the consolidated funding application process to assist companies in applying for the ESD Small Manufacturer’s Modernization Grant. This year alone, $225,000 in loans and capital leases have been approved.

Downtown Utica in the spotlight

There is renewed excitement and energy coming back to downtown Utica. Everywhere you turn, there is plenty of optimism. Our region now has a fully utilized health-care campus at the Wynn Hospital for MVHS, with Oneida County’s newly completed parking garage which opened this summer. Just a few hundred yards away, the Nexus Center at Utica University hosted the IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s World Championship, bringing thousands of spectators from around the globe to Utica. The Nexus Center will be hosting similar exciting events in the coming months.

OCIDA producing real results

As part of efforts to better serve Oneida County’s economic growth, the staff at EDGE pulled together a list of projects coordinated through both the Oneida County Industrial Development Agency (OCIDA) and the Oneida County Local Development Corporation (OCLDC) to evaluate our success further. Of 103 active projects since 2018, over $2 billion in total project value has been generated between both organizations. In 2023 alone, $51.8 million went to projects in Oneida County, the beginning of construction of Flex-Space at the Marcy Nanocenter, as well as new facility construction at the former Oneida Ltd. Complex in Sherrill. Of 103 IDAs across New York state, OCIDA ranks 11th in total active projects, proving that the management and oversight of projects are delivering benefits at a practical cost.

Commitment to the communities we serve

Our future prospects are especially promising, thanks to the solid historical groundwork we have established for enhancing Oneida County and the Mohawk Valley region, paving the way for even more growth. The work does not happen alone, and we are very grateful for the support of the Mohawk Valley EDGE board of directors for their trust in providing our organization with the ability to carry out our mission and ensure that our future remains bright for years to come. We value the partnerships we have established to achieve these remarkable projects.        

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Shawna Papale is acting president of Mohawk Valley EDGE. She has served the organization for nearly three decades, most recently as chief administrative officer.