State approves Cayuga Community College plan for START-UP NY program

AUBURN, N.Y. — Cayuga Community College will participate in the START-UP NY economic-development program.

The State University of New York (SUNY) and Empire State Development (ESD), the state’s primary economic-development agency, approved the college’s application.

As a program affiliate, businesses interested in participating in START-UP NY can apply to Cayuga Community College to partner with its campuses in Auburn or Fulton, the school said in a news release issued on Wednesday.

START-UP NY, which the New York State Legislature approved in June 2013, seeks to create public-private partnerships on college campuses in the Empire State to spur economic development and job creation.

The initiative provides “extensive” tax benefits to eligible companies that start up, move to, or expand in New York, the school said.

To participate in START-UP NY, the state required Cayuga Community College to write and submit a campus plan outlining its mission and core values, the types of businesses that it would consider for participation, and physical spaces it would designate or potentially assign as START-UP NY tax-free areas, according to the school’s news release.

SUNY and ESD approved the college’s plan after soliciting feedback from the community in a public-comment period and a public forum.

The plan indicates Cayuga Community College will consider applications from businesses in fields that include the application of geospatial technology, manufacturing, information technology (including health-information technology), telecommunications and media, and technical theater.

Cayuga Community College chose these fields “due to their alignment” with the college’s current offerings, and the school’s belief that they offer the “greatest potential benefit to students and faculty,” according to the news release.

The college can amend the plan to add additional business types or locations as it expands programming or new opportunities arise.

Businesses interested in participating in START-UP NY in collaboration with Cayuga Community College’s Auburn campus should contact the Cayuga Economic Development Agency at (315) 252-3500, while businesses interested in collaborating with the college’s Fulton campus should contact Operation Oswego County at (315) 343-1545.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com