The Agency to receive $11.2 million to prep former BAE site for future development

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — The Agency announced it will receive $11.2 million in funding from the state’s Focused Attraction of Strategic Tracts, or FAST NY, program to build out and prepare the site at 600 Main St. in the town of Union.

The 27-acre site, once home to BAE Systems, flooded in 2011, and while it appears shovel ready, it requires a significant investment to return it to a usable state, per a release from The Agency.

“We are beyond thrilled and grateful for Gov. [Kathy] Hochul’s support of the FAST NY program and to receive this funding for this long-vacant site,” said Stacey Duncan, CEO of the Leadership Alliance, which oversees The Agency and the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce. “This funding will enable us to build out a plan that will bring new private-sector investment to this centrally located site and to attract companies in the clean energy and semiconductor sectors.”

With close proximity to both Binghamton University and Binghamton-JC-Endicott-iDistrict corridor, the Union site is regionally significant. The Agency acquired it through a transfer of property by the U.S. Air Force, which demolished and cleaned the flooded site in 2018.

With financial support obtained through U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), The Agency completed a feasibility and redevelopment study and a state environmental quality review (SEQR). It also completed a site–management plan in coordination with the Air Force and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. All of this work made the site eligible for the FAST NY program.

“The town of Union is excited to see The Agency receive the funding necessary to advance the 600 Main Street site to a shovel-ready state,” Union Town Supervisor Rob Mack said in the release. “We look forward to the site becoming a viable location for investment once again.”

Using the funds, The Agency plans to work on a development plan that includes creating a fill plan to raise the site out of the floodplain and make key infrastructure improvements including roads and utilities.

Once completed, the Union site will serve as a strategic location for investment with proximity to major highways and its location in an energy community. Being located in a designated energy community means end users at the site will be eligible for additional funding through the Department of Energy in the form of tax credits or grants, especially for projects related to the clean-energy supply chain or which prioritize utilizing green technology in manufacturing.