Imagine Monroe OKs breaks for projects, funding for program

Imagine Monroe this week approved funding for LadderzUp, a job placement program developed by Monroe Community College and Imagine Monroe, Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo announced Tuesday.

Imagine Monroe was formerly known as the County of Monroe Industrial Development Agency.

“A trained and skilled workforce is a tremendous asset to our local economy,” Dinolfo said. “LadderzUp builds on the idea that education and training enable individuals to move up the economic ladder and connects people with tailor-made job training programs that directly lead to job placements in businesses currently hiring employees. When businesses are looking to locate or expand in Monroe County, they need and expect a fully-trained workforce and LadderzUp helps make that possible.”

Imagine Monroe will support a minimum of 45 people with accelerated education and training in the areas of advanced manufacturing, health care and information technology. LadderzUp will extend training and educational options to include credit and noncredit programs in a variety of in-demand job fields, officials said.

The funding amounts to $355,000. The investment is first-year funding; it will decrease by half in following years after the program is in operation.

Projects receiving assistance—provided through tax exemptions and abatements, and access to lower interest rates through tax-exempt bond issues—are required to use 100 percent local labor, officials said.

In addition, the agency approved assistance for four economic development projects

P & L Linden LLC

P&L Linden is proposing to purchase and renovate 800 Linden Ave. in Pittsford for a related entity, KAFL Inc. The total project cost is $1.8 million receiving JobsPlus Property Tax Abatement.  It is receiving $154,638 incentives through mortgage tax, sales tax and a payment in lieu of taxes agreement. The state and regional benefit is projected at $915,923, officials said.

KAFL is a wholesale insurance brokerage agency that offers services in the areas of life, long-term care, disability, annuities and employee benefits to licensed insurance brokers nationwide, according to the company. The 10,500-square-foot facility will provide a more efficient work flow for KAFL, officials said.

The project will impact 29 full-time equivalent positions and is projected to create nine new positions over the next three years.

KAFL has been approved for sales tax exemptions on a total of $250,000 of purchases for interior renovations, equipment and furniture.

Simonetti Properties & Management LLC

Simonetti is a development company that proposes a $1.5 million project to construct an urgent care facility at 2047 W. Ridge Rd. in Greece.  The facility would be operated by the University of Rochester Medical Center/Strong Memorial Hospital and would total 5,600 square feet. The facility will provide outpatient care for the treatment of acute and chronic illnesses and injuries, officials said.

Simonetti will provide the building shell and UR will complete all interior renovations. The university has received a certificate of need from the state Department of Health for the project, which will create a projected 17 full-time jobs over a three-year span.

Simonetti has been approved for sales tax exemptions and property tax abatement.  The job creation requirement is 1 full-time job. UR’s purchases are not subject to sales tax.

Simonetti was approved for LeasePlus Property Tax Abatement and a pilot agreement, with total incentive of $214,943. The projected state and regional benefit is roughly $1 million

Quality Vision International Inc.

QVI, a designer and manufacturer of optical and multisensory coordinate measuring machines, is in the final phase of a five-year renovation and expansion project at the firm’s campus located on Hudson Avenue. The current $2.9 million project involves the construction of a 43-space parking lot, a new building to accommodate two production machines and a new warehouse to store the materials required to build their products, officials said.

The project will retain 10 full-time jobs, and will continue to support the existing 308 employees at the city location. The applicant has been approved for a sales tax exemption of $68,745 on eligible expenditures. The projected state and regional benefit is $1.2 million

NYDOC Group LLC

NYDOC Group, a document destruction company, is proposing to purchase production equipment and renovate its facility in the city.  The firm provides confidential services to customers throughout Upstate New York. The $285,500 project will affect one full-time job, and is projected to create eight full-time jobs over the next three years, officials said. The firm has been approved for a GreatRebate on the equipment purchase and for the EquiPlus sales tax exemption.

The incentives total $21,240 and the project has state and regional benefit is $191,553.

Follow Kerry Feltner on Twitter: @KerryFeltner

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