The Mohawk Valley Renaissance

The left hook landed in 1993. The Federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) announced that Griffiss Air Force Base, which opened near Rome, New York in 1942, would close as part of a Cold War 

drawdown of United States strategic forces. The knockout punch came in September 1995 when the American flag was lowered for the last time, marking the loss of thousands of military personnel and nearly 1,200 civilian jobs. The only entities that remained on the abandoned 3,552 acres were the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the Eastern Air Defense Sector of NORAD, and the Rome office of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service. Closing the facility was the culmination of a nearly half-century decline in the vocational base of the Mohawk Valley, with an attendant loss of jobs and population. The city of Rome illustrates the change, declining from a high of 51,646 residents in the 1960 U.S. Census to 32,415 in the 2016 estimated Census.

“It’s fair to say the Mohawk Valley was shell-shocked back in 1995,” says Steven J. DiMeo, president of Mohawk Valley EDGE, an economic-development corporation established in 1995 and structured as a single-point of contact for businesses seeking to locate and grow in the area. “The long-term economic decline and loss of jobs and population was depressing. There seemed to be no end in sight. In retrospect, however, the base closing forced the community to create a new beginning. Local leadership took on the task of reinventing not only Griffiss, realigning the existing structures and building new ones, but also the entire region. Mohawk Valley EDGE assumed the lead role in bringing all of the stakeholders together from the conceptual stage through the planning, economic stabilization, and growth phases. We forged a consensus to create a diversified and stable economy, create high-paying jobs, and attract both private and public investment.

“We knew this would be a decades-long process requiring patience and dedication,” continues DiMeo. “The community spent a lot of time assessing our SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats). In developing a comprehensive strategy, we focused on our competitive advantages and community needs. I’m sure most area residents in 1995 saw the base closure as a tragedy, but a few visionaries saw it as the start of a new era in economic development.”

IT/cybersecurity cluster

“We naturally focused on a few … [occupational] clusters,” opines DiMeo. “The Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) at Griffiss was a logical choice to begin converting the base into a business and technology park. AFRL employed hundreds of the nation’s top scientists and engineers and also housed a number of on-site contractors. The lab served as the core of a [regional] cluster to attract other IT and cybersecurity companies. In the last quarter century, AFRL has grown to employ nearly 1,200 people with a five-county economic impact in excess of $400 million in 2018. The payroll alone is more than $142 million annually, and wages average nearly $120,000. The lab, operating with an annual budget of $1.3 billion, also generates 1,300-plus indirect jobs. There’s no doubt that AFRL has been the catalyst of growth in the IT and cybersecurity cluster. Our IT/cyber community now includes companies such as AIS, Peraton, BAE Systems, Siege Technologies, ANDRO, and Booz Allen Hamilton to name a few. The only limit to our growth here is the lack of talent available.” Nationally, there are 30,000 unfilled IT positions paying an average wage of nearly $74,000.

Griffiss Business & Technology Park

“Success in developing the Business & Technology Park required both patience and determination,” adds DiMeo, “but the formerly abandoned base now houses 77 businesses which employ between 5,800 and 5,900 workers. Since 1995, we have invested $625 million in capital expenditures improving the Park. Just in the past year, Park construction included completion of State Route 825, undertaking an RFP for a mixed-use development of the former B240 site [opening up 26 to 27 acres], selecting 10 teams for the first cohort from the AFRL Commercialization Academy plus launching IDEA NY (one-year business accelerator), and starting construction on a 32,000-square-foot tech building to serve as NYSTEC’s corporate headquarters and to offer space for other tech companies. Looking back, the conversion of the base has been a huge success. [Ironically,] our problem today is creating more space in the Park to meet the demand.”

UAS cluster

Another developing cluster, unforeseen at the start of the economic renaissance, is the growth of unmanned-aircraft systems (UAS), better known to the public as drones. 

“Our region is in on the ground floor,” notes DiMeo. “Mohawk Valley EDGE works with the Griffiss International Airport and Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research (NUAIR) Alliance, a cross-regional interstate partnership dedicated to growing this industry. The key is developing the quality and integrity of digital communications to allow for flying beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS). Central New York is one of only seven federally designated test sites, and the state has committed $35 million to create a 50-mile corridor between Syracuse and Rome to develop test-range infrastructure with high-precision, ground-based, air-traffic-surveillance testing capabilities. The facility, which has conducted more than 2,500 drone flights, has already attracted more than 50 companies to the region, and 27 companies have created or committed to 1,400 jobs in the Mohawk Valley and Central New York. The addition of the new Sky Dome, which is the nation’s largest indoor, instrumented UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) experimental site, will allow year-round testing. The goal is to become the Underwriting Laboratory for the industry creating and certifying UAS standards for drones. Once the BVLOS problem is solved, the potential for the drone industry is unlimited. I think this region holds the key to the solution and the industry’s future.”

Nanotechnology cluster

High-tech manufacturing was an early focus of the economic-development plan, with nanotechnology at the top of the list. 

“From the time I joined Mohawk Valley EDGE,” says DiMeo, “we have wanted to develop our nanotechnology infrastructure to attract semiconductor manufacturers. We’re anticipating rapid growth based on projections that the industry will reach $1 trillion in sales by 2025, driven by demand for AI (artificial intelligence), autonomous marketing, the introduction of 5G, and the growth of the Internet of Things (IoT). New York committed decades ago to attracting semiconductor manufacturing to the state, and the success in the Albany area confirms its continuing investment. We have worked consistently since the late 1990s to create both research and manufacturing sites here, and our 20-plus-year commitment is beginning to pay off. By the middle of this summer, the Marcy Nanocenter will be truly ‘shovel-ready’ for manufacturing with only site hook-ups required. In just the past three years, we injected more than $78 million in infrastructure programming extending natural-gas and dual-circuit [electrical] transmission lines, installing sewer extension and upgrades, and completing construction of the Ring Road. To shorten the permitting process for a manufacturer, Mohawk Valley EDGE has applied for an air permit which can be transferred to the end-user, cutting six months off a company’s start-up process. We work closely with Empire State Development to market the site globally, and now I think it’s just a matter of market timing before we close a deal with a manufacturer.”

DiMeo continues, “In March, the state announced an $880 million partnership between SUNY Poly[technic Institute] in Albany and Applied Materials, [a global equipment manufacturer with $14.5 billion in annual revenue and 18,000 employees worldwide]. The investment will support a semiconductor research center called META (Materials Engineering and Technology Accelerator). META will develop next-generation materials to be used in chip making, AI hardware, and cutting-edge devices, as well as work on materials for the life-sciences, the auto industry, and advanced-optical centers. META should serve as a magnet to help attract high-tech manufacturers to the Mohawk Valley. In Marcy, Danfoss (Danish corporation) has started its operation in what was formerly the QUAD-C building, located just a mile from the Nanocenter. The company’s silicon-power division will eventually occupy 250,000 square feet, including 52,000 square feet of clean-room space, to produce power modules for industries such as renewable-energy and automotive. Danfoss anticipates hiring 300 employees over the next five years.”

DiMeo points out that while much of the attention to economic-development centers on high-tech clusters such as IT/cybersecurity, nanotechnology, and UAS, Mohawk Valley EDGE is also focused on expanding areas such as advanced manufacturing, agribusiness, tourism, transportation/distribution, aviation, and craft food and beverage. He also applauded local business efforts to double the number of student internships to help educate area students and showcase local employment opportunities.

Community partnership

Education. Recruiting talent is a challenge in the Mohawk Valley. Over the past three decades, this reporter has listened to the same mantra: “Our best success in attracting employees is selecting people who live in the region, have family here, or grew up here and would like the opportunity to return.” To meet the challenge, the region boasts a number of colleges and universities that annually generates more than 7,000 students ready to enter the workforce. 

“Institutions such as Utica College, SUNY Poly, and MVCC (Mohawk Valley Community College) have crafted programs to meet the demands of the cybersecurity, UAS, and nanotechnology industries,” posits DiMeo. “At the high-school level, P-TECH (Pathways in Technology Early College High School) is a successful program focusing on STEM (science, technology engineering, and math) and also incorporating classes on leadership, communications, and problem solving. In addition, students experience business internships, and the program’s graduates earn both a high-school and associates degree. To encourage entrepreneurship, the Mohawk Valley has created a number of incubators ranging from MVCC’s downtown thINCubator; the Griffiss Institute’s GIBI designed as an intermediary between AFRL’s research and the Mohawk Valley marketplace; and IDEA NY, a business accelerator targeting entrepreneurs in cybersecurity, UAS, and IT. Utica College just completed construction on a 15,000-square-foot building to house the school’s construction-management program, which will help to fill the need for training construction personnel.

The cool factor. “When you develop a high-tech economy,” contends DiMeo, “you also need to develop an environment that attracts and retains the personnel who ensure the success of the economy. The quality of life is a key factor, especially with Millennial workers who prefer urban living and a vibrant downtown. In Utica, we have seen a transformation of the city starting with the Bagg’s Square neighborhood which offers recreational, entertainment, residential, and commercial opportunities. The city is also developing the Harbor Point waterfront district, the Nexus Center sports complex, and enhancing Broad Street. The AUD (Utica Memorial Auditorium) has been totally renovated, and the community now features both professional hockey and soccer with sellout crowds. Our attention is also focused on the new downtown MVHS (Mohawk Valley Health System) campus where construction is scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of this year. When the 25-acre, medical complex opens, it will serve as a major urban-development catalyst drawing more than 4,000 employees downtown every day.

“Rome is also transforming its urban neighborhoods,” asserts DiMeo. “After 10 years of brownfield opportunity area (BOA) planning, the planners have put together all of the pieces needed to make Rome a vibrant destination. The city has branded a marketing plan, called “Rome Rises,” to convert the Erie Boulevard corridor and the downtown BOA into residential neighborhoods and industrial nodes. Rome was recently awarded a $10 million DRI (Downtown Revitalization Initiative) by the state to help implement the development.”

Place matters. It’s clear that the quality of place is a critical element of the Mohawk Valley’s renaissance. The area has invested in everything from business development to waterfront revitalization, streetscape reconstruction, parks, arts, and cultural programming, and mixed-use structures. Today’s workers are looking for more than just a job: They are attracted first to a diverse community with a variety of living options that are affordable, recreational choices, and educational opportunities. Much of the monetary investment in Utica and Rome is both visible and appreciated by the public, but much of it is not seen and therefore taken for granted by the everyday resident. Oneida County, for example, has invested millions of dollars in infrastructure including replacing aging water and sewer lines, flood mitigation, roads, and bridges.

Mohawk Valley EDGE. Much of the credit for the area’s renaissance is owed to the Mohawk Valley EDGE. With a staff of just 13, the organization has spearheaded and coordinated the effort to create partnerships in advancing the community’s economic revival. Headed by DiMeo, a Utica native, MV EDGE has persevered in spite of the community naysayers, a regulatory morass, and multiple setbacks. DiMeo’s management style seems to mirror that of Vince Lombardi, the famed coach of the Green Bay Packers, who said: “It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.” Or perhaps DiMeo’s management style is more akin to that of Rocky Balboa, who knew something about getting knocked down and still went the distance against the boxing champion. In DiMeo’s own words: “I just shut out the noise and stick to the plan … For me, economic development is a team sport … The result will speak for itself.”