Honoring Steve DiMeo by championing regional projects

Get our email updates

Stay up-to-date on the companies, people and issues that impact businesses in Syracuse, Central New York and beyond.

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

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.

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

Boonville making plans on how to spend its $4.5M NY Forward award

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Mohawk Valley, Subscriber Only

BOONVILLE — Those involved in the local planning committee (LPC) for the Village of Boonville in northern Oneida County are working to figure out how to spend $4.5 million in state funding it was awarded earlier this year. The open call for NY Forward project proposals, which started on June 3, was set to close

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

The open call for NY Forward project proposals, which started on June 3, was set to close on Aug. 1, per a notice on the website: boonvilleforward.org.

The village also launched a community survey on July 3 to gather public input on the vision and development priorities for the NY Forward Area. The survey was scheduled to remain open through July 25, per a posting on the village’s Facebook page. The Village of Boonville was also scheduled to host an open house for community input at Erwin Library on July 18.

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Feb. 12 announced both Boonville and Richfield as this year’s Mohawk Valley region winners NY Forward funding, receiving $4.5 million each.

The Village of Boonville’s application — entitled, “We’re Just Up the Road”— seeks to transform its downtown into an attractive destination for tourists and residents alike, building on its reputation as a hub for tourism and recreation, as well as the “Gateway to the Adirondacks.”

Referring to itself as “walkable, bikable, adorable,” the village’s downtown destinations and amenities are never more than a 10 or 20-minute walk away. Through this NY Forward award, village officials envision improved pedestrian-friendly infrastructure, expanded small business opportunities, and enhanced public spaces with ample cultural activities.

“We are profoundly grateful that Governor Hochul has taken an interest in our small village and sees potential for Boonville’s future,” Judith Dellerba, mayor of the Village of Boonville, said in the state’s announcement. “The generous award from NY Forward will enable us to embark on transformative projects that will positively impact the lives of our citizens and strengthen the fabric of the Boonville community. This new partnership between the Village of Boonville and Governor Hochul’s office exemplifies a shared vision for a brighter future, and together we will work tirelessly to maximize the impact of this funding, ensuring it reaches every bit of our village, and leaves a lasting legacy for generations to come.”

Developing plan

Boonville is in the process of developing a strategic-investment plan to revitalize its downtown. A local planning committee made up of municipal representatives, community leaders, and other stakeholders is leading the effort, supported by a team of private-sector experts and state planners.

The New York Department of State is overseeing the Boonville NY Forward process with support from a consultant team led by Laberge Group, an Albany–based engineering consultant, per the website of boonvilleforward.org. At the same time, the LPC will be responsible for meeting regularly with the consultant team and representing the public throughout the process.

Both Dellerba and Laura Casamento, who serves on the Mohawk Valley Regional Economic Development Council, are the LPC co-chairs, per the website. Casamento previously served as president of Utica University.

The LPC held a meeting back on June 27, per a post on the village’s Facebook page.

The Village of Boonville’s NY Forward boundary extends from Awesome Country Farmhouse, LLC and the former Delta Hardwood manufacturing facility in the southeast, continues through the Main Street / Schuyler Street corridors, and terminates at the Boonville-Oneida County Fairgrounds in the west, per the website.

Rome Health construction on ICU addition, surgical center project progresses

Health Care, Construction, Design & Real Estate, Mohawk Valley, Subscriber Only

ROME — Construction crews continue their work on the upcoming intensive-care unit (ICU) addition and the Kaplan Center for Surgical Services at Rome Health Hospital. The project involves constructing a 30,000-square-foot, three-floor addition on the north side of the hospital. The expansion will allow the hospital to replace its aging operating rooms and ICUs. Construction

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

ROME — Construction crews continue their work on the upcoming intensive-care unit (ICU) addition and the Kaplan Center for Surgical Services at Rome Health Hospital.

The project involves constructing a 30,000-square-foot, three-floor addition on the north side of the hospital. The expansion will allow the hospital to replace its aging operating rooms and ICUs.

Construction workers from the Hayner Hoyt Corporation of Syracuse will complete the $45.7 million project in three phases, and King + King Architects of Syracuse designed the project.

Rome Health anticipates project completion in the summer of 2026. “At this time, the construction is on budget and on time,” per a July 2 update on the Rome Health website.

Rome Health Kaplan Center — A rendering of the upcoming Kaplan Center for Surgical Services at Rome Health Hospital.
PHOTO CREDIT: ROME HEALTH WEBSITE

The concrete floors have been poured for both the 1st and 2nd floors of the center, as indicated in the July 2 website update. Crews were also pouring concrete for the basement level of the center.

Stairs have been installed but are not yet accessible. Workers have also started positioning and laying piping throughout the building.

Rome Health says the project is being funded through a partnership of more than $29 million in public funding and private philanthropy, including a $26 million New York State Transformation Grant and $3 million in ARPA funds from the City of Rome, according to a November 2023 Rome Health website posting.

Besides the $29 million in public funding, the Rome Health Foundation has also raised $15 million through private philanthropy and continuing its outreach to donors to raise the balance, Cassie Evans Winter, VP of communications/grants administration at Rome Health, tells CNYBJ in a July 11 email.

The Kaplan Center for Surgical Services is named in honor of Charles and Florence Kaplan.

“The $45.7 million capital project will enhance the experience for patients and their families while supporting the care team in delivering the best care out there here,” AnneMarie Czyz, president and CEO of Rome Health, contended in a statement.

AmeriCU and Rome Health — AmeriCU Credit Union on May 30 announced a partnership with Rome Health “to support the enhancement of surgical services and critical care facilities.” Pictured here (from left to right) are: Chester DiBari III, executive director of Rome Health Foundation; AnneMarie Walker-Czyz, president and CEO of Rome Health; and Ron Belle, president and CEO of AmeriCU Credit Union.
PHOTO CREDIT: AMERICU CREDIT UNION

AmeriCU partnership

AmeriCU Credit Union says it’s partnering with Rome Health on initiatives to acquire advanced medical equipment, enhance facilities, improve technology, and support specialized training for medical staff, per a May 30 announcement from the credit union.

“We are excited to partner with Rome Health in their mission to deliver exceptional healthcare services for our community and assist those facing challenges, by bringing their needs to the forefront of our focus,” Ron Belle, president and CEO of AmeriCU Credit Union, said in the announcement. “By coming together, we can work to build a stronger, more resilient community.”

The partnership between AmeriCU and Rome Health will significantly impact Rome and surrounding area’s healthcare, strengthening the availability of state-of-the-art surgical procedures and critical care services for patients. By investing in these critical areas, AmeriCU helps to improve patient outcomes and enhance the overall health-care experience for individuals and families in the community.

ANDRO pushes the envelope on disruptive innovation

Technology, Mohawk Valley, Small Business, Subscriber Only

ROME — ANDRO Computational Solutions, LLC is making its mark on both the scientific world and the local Mohawk Valley economy. Between a new headquarters and new defense contracts, the Rome–based tech company is well on its way toward its goal of leading advancements in disruptive innovation. Disruptive may sound like a negative term, but

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

ROME — ANDRO Computational Solutions, LLC is making its mark on both the scientific world and the local Mohawk Valley economy.

Between a new headquarters and new defense contracts, the Rome–based tech company is well on its way toward its goal of leading advancements in disruptive innovation.

Disruptive may sound like a negative term, but when it comes to technology, it’s all about innovation and changing the way people and businesses do things. For ANDRO, that means stirring the pot and pushing the United States to be a technology leader.

“We’re trying to improve wireless communication,” ANDRO President/CEO Andrew Drozd says. The Department of Defense (DoD) needs it for soldiers — thus the many defense contracts ANDRO has received — but ultimately, most of the solutions developed for the DoD have commercial consumer applications as well.

“We’re are also experts at dynamic spectrum-sharing policy,” he notes. In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (part of the Department of Commerce) oversee how the spectrum is used. That’s no small task when all forms of wireless communication from air traffic to weather satellites to our own personal cell phones must share the spectrum.

In the U.S., spectrum management still tends to be fixed while today’s technology has become increasingly fluid, Drozd says. “This restricts how we do things in the United States,” he says, adding that leads customers to reach out to ANDRO when they need to figure out how to make their technology work on the spectrum. “We’re the unicorns in this field.”

ANDRO has also carved out a niche in software-based waveform development, he says. Communication devices have a particular type of chip in them for digital-signal processing. Radio waveforms are the functions that convert input such as a person’s speech or typed data into transmitted energy, which is then converted back at the receiving device at the other end.

The chips that carry the waveforms are typically pre-programmed before being used in a device and updating them with new technology is a costly process that can take between one to three years, Drozd says. ANDRO has developed a process to “flash” those waveforms onto those chips, providing a way to develop, test, and evaluate waveform designs much more quickly.

“This is one of our growing markets,” Drozd says.

All that growth meant that ANDRO needed more laboratory space. While it had been located at the Beeches complex for many years, the company decided to move elsewhere in late 2022 when it moved to Griffiss Business & Technology Park at the Steven J. DiMeo Campus.

The company reduced its overall facility space — going from 22,000 to 8,000 square feet — and manages the downsizing with a work-from-home model.

“It works well because it’s modern,” Drozd says of the space. He hopes ANDRO will eventually build its own small-scale manufacturing and research facility as it works closer to its goal of commercializing some of the technologies it has developed.

“We’re trying to really develop more and more products we can sell,” he says. The company will also continue the government and defense work it excels at.

ANDRO employs about 50 people and has been growing steadily in recent years, adding groups of four to five employees at a time, with each new defense contract it has landed.

Those contracts include a $2 million Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency contract to develop a 5G testbed environment and a $1.3 million U.S. Navy contract Phase II Small Business Innovation Research contract to develop a new type of autonomous radio frequency signal intelligence capability.

Drozd was also recently reappointed to the FCC’s Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council IX for another two years.

“I’m the only one from New York state,” he says of members of the council, which consults and weighs in on topics related to the development of FCC policies. “I’m very proud to be part of that.”

Founded in 1994, ANDRO serves defense and commercial customers in software radios, spectrum access, cybersecurity, machine learning, and more.

Planning proceeds for Triangle site development at Griffiss

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Mohawk Valley, Subscriber Only

ROME — The future development of the 332-acre Triangle site at Griffiss International Airport in Rome is progressing in the planning stages following the March 5 announcement of a $23.6 million state grant to help turn into a semiconductor supply-chain campus. “It has started in design and concept,” says Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente Jr.,

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

“It has started in design and concept,” says Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente Jr., noting the planning for the development of the parcel had started well before the grant announcement.

It’s called the Triangle site because it has the “general outline” of a triangle, Picente notes in a July 10 phone interview with CNYBJ.

“While there’s nothing physically in the ground … the process has begun,” he adds.

Oneida County will chip in a local match of nearly $2.7 million.

Picente would like to see development get started in the first quarter of 2025 to start preparing the water, sewer, and electrical components so the site is on the fast track and by the end of 2026, perhaps into 2027, it is “shovel ready.”

When asked if Oneida County knows of any supply-chain firms that are interested in eventually coming to the site, he says, “We have had discussions, confidentially with some companies that we’re in contact with.”

With Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU) securing the White Pine Commerce Park in the town of Clay in Onondaga County, Picente notes that the Triangle site is “now the largest site … in the state of New York for development.”

Oneida County received the largest amount among seven sites awarded funding under the Focused Attraction of Shovel-Ready Tracts New York (FAST NY) grant program, per the March 5 announcement. The money will allow for the county and its partners to complete infrastructure and transportation improvements to the Triangle site to support up to 3.9 million square feet of developable area.

The partners include Griffiss Local Development Corporation (GLDC), Mohawk Valley EDGE (MV EDGE), Salina–based C&S Companies, and the City of Rome.

Griffiss International Airport — PHOTO CREDIT: ZOEYADVERTISING.COM

The work will include electrical upgrades and extension, doubling capacity to provide up to 50 megawatts; water and sewer extension; force main and pump station; looping for increased pressure; transportation and access upgrades; roundabout construction; sound-barrier construction; lighting and pedestrian infrastructure; natural-gas extension from State Route 825; general site work; perimeter fencing; site grading and green infrastructure; and duct bank and utility corridors, per the March 5 announcement.

“Conveniently located in the center of New York State and positioned adjacent to Wolfspeed and Micron, Oneida County’s ‘Triangle Site’ at Griffiss is positioned to be the state’s premier semiconductor supply chain campus, offering up to 50 megawatts of power,” Picente said in the March 5 announcement. “This largest shovel-ready site in the state will unlock up to 2.6 million square feet of new construction and the potential for 3,000 new jobs.”

The announcement included Rome Mayor Jeffrey Lanigan thanking Gov. Kathy Hochul for the “significant investment that will propel our region’s semiconductor industry forward” and additionally expressing gratitude to Picente and the project partners.

“We also want to thank County Executive Anthony Picente, MV EDGE and GLDC for their visionary leadership in spearheading the development of a shovel-ready semiconductor supply chain site,” Lanigan said. “Their outstanding application showcased the strength of our community’s commitment to innovation and we look forward to collaborating on the development of this site, paving the way for further advancements in our local economy and technology sector. Together, we will continue to foster growth and prosperity for generations to come.”

All Seasonings has all the ingredients for growth

Manufacturing & Engineering, Mohawk Valley, Small Business, Subscriber Only

ONEIDA — All Seasonings Ingredients has been the Oneida area’s hidden secret, but that’s changing now that the food-production company is growing. Without a retail brand on the shelves, All Seasonings isn’t a household name, CEO Brendan Farnach says, but it is well known in the spice industry. His father, Joe, started the business in

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

ONEIDA — All Seasonings Ingredients has been the Oneida area’s hidden secret, but that’s changing now that the food-production company is growing.

Without a retail brand on the shelves, All Seasonings isn’t a household name, CEO Brendan Farnach says, but it is well known in the spice industry.

His father, Joe, started the business in 1994 out of the kitchen of his Sylvan Beach restaurant, Cinderella’s Café. It was really a side project, Farnach says, where his father bought spices in bulk and packaged up the extras to sell to other restaurants who didn’t need to buy so much at once.

It wasn’t until about 2003 — after Farnach graduated from Syracuse University, where he studied finance, and joined the business — that the focus turned toward growing it into something more.

All Seasonings Ingredients imports spices from around the world and then bottles them — but it’s more than just putting some garlic powder in a bottle. The company can blend spices and customize the product on several levels including granulation size and potency.

It serves the food service, industrial, and retail industries and does private-label work for clients.

“We focus on customer service,” Farnach says. That means from the label to the spice itself, products are consistent and meet the customers’ needs. All Seasonings is one of just a few privately owned companies that both imports and bottles product ingredients, he says. Most companies do one or the other.

While it can be challenging, the effort allows All Seasonings to employ more people, have better control over its supply chain, and the most control over the finished product.

That focus has paid off. In 2004, the company had about five employees and imported about 100,000 pounds of spices.

By 2023, the business had grown to employing 106 workers and importing 30 million pounds of spices.

All Seasonings Ingredients has seen explosive growth over the past five years, including during the pandemic. Restaurants may have been closed for dining, but delivery options boomed — including pizza, Farnach notes. All Seasonings already had built a strong business in the pizza industry, and it grew even more during the pandemic.

Until now, the company didn’t really push the needle on further growth because it was already operating at full capacity, he says. The company has been based at 1043 Freedom Drive in Oneida for many years, where it has both office and warehouse space.

Now, it has expanded with a new 9,000-square-foot research and development facility that houses the company’s sales, customer service, purchasing, and marketing teams along with a state-of-the-art test kitchen.

The 2,500-square-foot kitchen allows All Seasonings Ingredients to continue to innovate for its customers as well as for itself as it looks to expand its product offerings, Farnach says. The company markets its Papa Joe’s salad dressing mixes to restaurants and hopes to add more products along those lines.

More facility expansion is also on the way as the company is building a 63,000-square-foot warehouse in nearby Sherrill to house raw materials, he adds.

All Seasonings worked with Mohawk Valley EDGE, the City of Oneida, and the Madison County Industrial Development agency on its expansion projects. The new R&D facility benefited from state Downtown Revitalization Initiative funding, while the company will receive a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement for the Sherrill warehouse.

“The new additions allow us to double our business,” Farnach says, adding he expects that growth over the next five years.

That means employment at the company is growing further. The new warehouse will add 10 new employees, and Farnach expects the firm will need between 30 and 40 new employees over the next five years. And that’s on top of adding automation and building efficiency along the way, he adds.

All Seasonings is primed and ready for growth but won’t lose track of what sets the business apart, Farnach says. It’s the customer service, the product itself, and its insider history in the restaurant industry that help the firm understand the needs of its customers.

Name change at Griffiss business park honors DiMeo

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Mohawk Valley, Subscriber Only

ROME — Pick a spot in the Mohawk Valley, spin around, and point. Odds are good, you’ll be pointing at some project that Steven J. DiMeo had a hand in. A graduate of T.R. Proctor High School, DiMeo began his economic-development work in the Mohawk Valley in 1984 when he worked for the Department of

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

ROME — Pick a spot in the Mohawk Valley, spin around, and point. Odds are good, you’ll be pointing at some project that Steven J. DiMeo had a hand in.

A graduate of T.R. Proctor High School, DiMeo began his economic-development work in the Mohawk Valley in 1984 when he worked for the Department of Urban and Economic Development in Utica. In 1986, he became its commissioner.

But it was the 1993 battle to save the former Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome and the subsequent redevelopment of the closed base into a thriving business and technology park that is perhaps his most publicly recognizable career accomplishment. The park is also home to the Mohawk Valley EDGE offices, where DiMeo served as president from its founding until his death on March 6, 2024.

“The day of his passing, I met with the staff that morning,” Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr. says. Amid the sadness, talk quickly turned to ways to honor the memory of the man who led so many economic-development efforts across the region — from fighting to keep the Air Force Research Lab in Rome to bringing the semiconductor industry to the area with Wolfspeed.

They all agreed something must be done, but “it’s got to be the right thing,” Picente says.

Looking around the region, you could point a finger at dozens of projects, he says, “But it started at Griffiss.”

Once a bustling Air Force base, Griffiss was listed as one of the bases targeted under the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), a congressionally authorized process the Department of Defense uses to reorganizes its base structure to improve efficiency and operational readiness.

Despite all efforts waged by DiMeo and other area economic-development leaders, the 3,689-acre Griffiss Air Force Base closed in September 1995. The Griffiss Local Development Corporation (GLDC) became the entity responsible for figuring out how to reuse the base. DiMeo, as a representative on the board, worked together with GLDC to turn those acres into what is now the thriving Griffiss Business & Technology Park.

Shawna Papale, acting president of Mohawk Valley EDGE, recalls talking with GLDC Board Chair Elis DeLia and others when the topic of renaming the park in DiMeo’s honor came up. While people were “ready to change the signs the next day,” she says, things had to go through the proper process.

Picente agrees and a big part of that process was making sure DiMeo’s wife, Dianne, and their three children were on board.

“The whole family, we’re just honored,” Dianne DiMeo tells The Central New York Business Journal.

The park is now known as the Griffiss Business & Technology Park at the Steven J. DiMeo Campus in his honor.

Looking at the transformation of the base is amazing, she adds. “It was such a huge undertaking,” she says. “I think most people would look at that and say, ‘I don’t know how we’re going to reach that vision.’”

Steve DiMeo never gave up on that vision, and that’s why it’s so necessary to honor his work and his legacy, Papale says. “Anybody who comes to it or just comes through it is in awe,” she says of the bustling park, which is home to nearly 70 businesses employing thousands of people.

“Steve would tell us, ‘Don’t change the sign. You don’t need to do that,’” Papale says. But “he and his family deserve that honor.”

There will be a ceremony, set for Sept. 13, to unveil the new signage.

While the name changes, the work remains the same, Papale says, and MV EDGE continues to take the blueprint DiMeo left for them to continue the vision.

“Steve would want us to keep moving forward,” she says.

EDGE study examines Oneida County’s dairy industry

Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Mohawk Valley, Small Business, Subscriber Only

Protecting and growing the Mohawk Valley’s dairy industry is the focus of a study, administered by Mohawk Valley EDGE, that will look at where the industry stands today and what it needs to flourish “This started last year,” Tim Fitzgerald, VP of economic development at EDGE, noted. The topic was first raised by Oneida County

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

Protecting and growing the Mohawk Valley’s dairy industry is the focus of a study, administered by Mohawk Valley EDGE, that will look at where the industry stands today and what it needs to flourish

“This started last year,” Tim Fitzgerald, VP of economic development at EDGE, noted. The topic was first raised by Oneida County Administrator Anthony J. Picente, Jr. in his 2023 State of the County address.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2022 Agriculture Census, the number of dairy farms in New York state fell by almost 1,900 from 2017. In that timeframe, Oneida County has gone from 159 farms to just 90.

“It’s important to ensure this valuable part of our economy is sustainable for the next generation and beyond,” Fitzgerald says. The study will help ensure it stays that way.

EDGE is administering the project, which was commissioned by the Oneida County Department of Planning. A request for proposals for a private consultant was issued in late 2023, and EDGE awarded the contract in July to New Venture Advisors, LLC, of Chicago.

Of the project’s three main goals, the first is to understand the current state of dairy farming in Oneida County including the number of farms, the number of cows, and even how much milk is produced.

The second goal is an in-depth evaluation of dairy processing in the county. “Right within Oneida County, you have processors like H.P. Hood,” Fitzgerald says.

Some farms, like Collins Farm and Creamery in Sauquoit, do their own on-site processing. EDGE was able to help Collins obtain processing equipment with a microenterprise grant.

“Some of those products could be made through value-added investments right on the farm,” Fitzgerald says.

There are also large-scale processors outside the county including Chobani to the south, Kraft to the north, Byrne Dairy to the west, and Fage to the east. The study will examine the role those large processors play now — and could play in the future — for the county’s dairy industry.

The third goal of the study is to identify sites that could be utilized for dairy processing including identifying infrastructure needs and proximity to dairy farms, Fitzgerald notes.

Through the study, EDGE expects to connect with an array of producers and processors to gather robust data.

“Obviously, we’re going to let the data drive where this goes,” he says of the study and what happens next.

However, with anticipated increased demand from those big processors, it just makes sense for Oneida County to get all its cows in a row, so to speak, so it’s prepared, especially as processed dairy products continue to grow in popularity.

“We want to be aware of what that plan is so we can position Central New York for some investment,” Fitzgerald says. “We want to position our community to experience growth.”

The entire study is expected to take between 12 and 15 months to complete, and EDGE is working on firming up the timeline and the deliverables expected.

“This is something that will be able to deliver some results to the community next year,” he says.

According to the Agriculture Census, 98 percent of farms in New York remain family owned. The total number of farms of all types fell from 33,438 to 30,650. The average net farm income is $76,281. The average producer age is 56.7 years old, and the number of farmers under the age of 35 declined from 6,718 to 6,335.

Reuse planning forges ahead for former St. Elizabeth and Faxton St. Luke’s hospitals

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Health Care, Mohawk Valley, Subscriber Only

UTICA — Projects to repurpose Mohawk Valley Health System’s (MVHS) two former hospitals — St. Elizabeth Medical Center and Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare — are moving forward as the communities surrounding both facilities provide input on what should happen to them. Both facilities were active hospitals until October 2023 when they closed as MHVS transitioned

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

Both facilities were active hospitals until October 2023 when they closed as MHVS transitioned to its new Wynn Hospital in downtown Utica. Since then, MVHS has partnered with several municipalities to navigate the reuse possibilities for each campus.

For Faxton St. Luke’s, that group includes Oneida County, Mohawk Valley EDGE, and the Town of New Hartford partnering with MVHS to undertake a master-planning effort for the 53-acre property.

The partners hired Fu Wilmers Design to lead the team of consultants developing a reuse plan with a timeline running from January through September.

“I think they’re going along well,” Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr. says of the planning efforts. The project held its third community meeting on June 26, and public input has been a key part of the plan, he says. Each meeting has averaged between 70 and 80 attendees. An advisory group of community members and other stakeholders also contribute to the project.

In its initial phase, the project is looking at a variety of factors from environmental concerns to the condition of the existing buildings as it factors in community input to develop conceptual reuse plans including market analysis, potential budget, and environmental and community concerns.

The property is a unique one, Picente notes, which spans four municipalities — the city of Utica, the villages of New York Mills and Yorkville, and the town of New Hartford.

“It presents a lot more opportunity than the naked eye would see,” he says. “It presents a lot of opportunity for a lot of different things.”

The former Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare campus in New Hartford. Projects to determine potential reuses for this site and the former St. Elizabeth Medical Center campus in Utica are moving forward as project leaders continue to solicit public input. Both hospitals closed when Mohawk Valley Health System, which owns both campuses, consolidated its services at the new Wynn Hospital in downtown Utica.
PHOTO CREDIT: ZOEYADVERTISING.COM

One thing it wasn’t attractive for was serving as the site for the new hospital, he points out. While large, there was no way to build a facility as large as Wynn Hospital on the site without impacting the existing hospital operations.

The same was true for the St. Elizabeth campus, located in Utica, where the campus is mostly surrounded by residential neighborhoods except where it fronts Genessee Street.

The City of Utica is working with MVHS on the reuse planning and has held several community meetings. With a new mayor in office, the process has changed slightly with the focus moving from developing a concrete reuse plan to curating a list of possible reuses designed with community input.

“We restructured the process,” Utica Mayor Michael Galime says. He wanted to get away from the notion that the city was going to decide what happened with the property and encourage the community to truly get involved in the process.

The most-recent meeting, held in May, went over the ins and outs of four possible reuses from demolishing it all to build new single-family homes to housing plans that included adaptive reuse of the hospital building.

“The vast majority of all of the input has been a request for residential use,” Galime says.

A development group led by Buffalo-based law firm Rupp Pfalzgraf is leading the reuse-planning project. While Galime didn’t share a timeline, some of the next steps include more public meetings and conducting a general environmental impact study (EIS) and a general State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) they can present to potential developers.

“Once that is done, all that public input can be used to guide a developer,” he says.

More information about both reuse projects is available online at www.reimaginestlukes.com and at www.cityofutica.com/departments/urban-and-economic-development/planning/St-Elizabeths-Re-Use-Master-Plan.

ICAN grows with unique mix of services and offerings

Health Care, Mohawk Valley, Small Business, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism, Subscriber Only

UTICA — From the Utica Children’s Museum to expanding its geographic footprint, ICAN — short for Integrated Community Alternatives Network — has been busy bringing its brand of resources to the Mohawk Valley and beyond. “It’s exciting stuff,” ICAN CEO and Executive Director Steven Bulger says of the growth at his organization. ICAN is a

Already an Subcriber? Log in

Get Instant Access to This Article

Become a Central New York Business Journal subscriber and get immediate access to all of our subscriber-only content and much more.

Learn More and Become a Subscriber

“It’s exciting stuff,” ICAN CEO and Executive Director Steven Bulger says of the growth at his organization. ICAN is a home and community-based network that offers services to individuals and families facing social, emotional, mental health, and behavioral challenges through its staff of 310 and a network of nearly 300 providers. The organization serves more than 2,100 individuals and families daily.

“Family is the fabric of the community,” Bulger says, and ICAN focuses on keeping that family strong and together.

In recent years, the ways ICAN approaches that goal have expanded beyond the more traditional counseling and support services.

The Utica Children’s Museum is one example of that. ICAN began offering managed services to the museum in 2017 before eventually becoming the only member of the museum’s 501(3)(c) nonprofit and bringing the museum into the ICAN family.

After a hard look at the museum’s operations and several years of planning and construction, ICAN is set to reopen the Utica Children’s Museum, which closed at its former downtown location at the start of the pandemic.

The new museum will open this coming December inside the new ICAN Family Resource Center on the Memorial Parkway in Utica. Features include a 4,000-square-foot rotunda and 10,000 square feet on the second floor, showcasing six galleries and 60 custom-fabricated exhibits.

While visitors — and ICAN is hoping for up to 40,000 annually — are enjoying the various exhibits and displays, they will also be surrounded by all the resources ICAN has to offer, and that’s important, Bulger says.

“It’s all about reducing barriers to help and reducing the stigma of asking for help,” he says. ICAN’s Family Resource Center houses the organization’s family-based programs, making it easy for museum visitors to access those programs.

It’s like the approach ICAN takes at its Elevate CNY Sports Complex in Whitesboro. ICAN purchased the former Rising Stars Sports Complex, a 60,000-square-foot facility, and began operating it in November 2022.

“What does a sports complex have to do with keeping families together?” Bulger asks. It turns out that it’s a lot when they infuse the “ICAN way” into it. That can include offerings beyond sports such as leadership academies and training programs, non-traditional programming for youth, creating opportunities for underserved groups to have access, and simply acting as an ICAN outreach center making people aware of services and how to get them.

Of course, sports remain a vital activity, and business is booming there, Bulger says. “Kids are using it more than ever before.” The complex hosts a variety of sports teams, is available for party rentals, and also services as a field-trip destination for area schools.

Speaking of area schools, ICAN has been busy there as well, Bulger says.

“One of our biggest areas of expansion is with schools and pushing into schools,” he says. In a school, ICAN serves as a safety net and helps take some of the pressure off school staff and teachers.

For this past school year, ICAN had staff in every school in the Utica City School District — and had to hire 40 new employees to achieve that goal, Bulger says. ICAN is starting to work with more area school districts.

The organization is also pushing east and west. In April, it opened a new office in Amsterdam. In the Syracuse area, ICAN is forging a new partnership with the Jon Diaz Community Center to operate a new center in Nedrow.

“We have a vision to continue to grow, to continue to expand,” Bulger says.

Founded in 1997, ICAN is headquartered at 310 Main St. in Utica and operates 20 programs in six counties.

Get our email updates

Stay up-to-date on the companies, people and issues that impact businesses in Syracuse, Central New York and beyond.

Get our email updates

What's New

Upcoming Events

Tompkins Chamber Government & Community Affairs Roundtable

Dannible & McKee Annual Tax & Financial Planning Conference

CenterState CEO Speed Networking

CNYBJ Job Board

Get Instant Access to This Article

Laser focused on the semiconductor industry

Supply chain growth touches all regions, especially Oneida County

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

Continued cleanup for brownfield sites in Oneida County

Supporting Boonville with New York Forward grant

Small-business expansion

Downtown Utica in the spotlight

OCIDA producing real results

Commitment to the communities we serve

Get Instant Access to This Article

Developing plan

Get Instant Access to This Article

AmeriCU partnership

Get Instant Access to This Article

Get Instant Access to This Article

Get Instant Access to This Article

Get Instant Access to This Article

Get Instant Access to This Article

Protecting and growing the Mohawk Valley’s dairy industry is the focus of a study, administered by Mohawk Valley EDGE, that will look at where the industry stands today and what it needs to flourish

Get Instant Access to This Article

Get Instant Access to This Article

Get our email updates