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Since 2011, more than $6 billion has been awarded to more than 7,300 projects statewide through New York State’s Regional Economic Development Council competition. Those projects are expected to create and retain more than 230,000 jobs.

In the Rochester region, the Finger Lakes REDC has been awarded $656.6 million through the first eight rounds of the competition for more than 850 projects.

The FLREDC this week submitted its 2019 Progress Report to the state, following a weeklong public comment period. Round IX of the REDC initiative will award more than $750 million in state funding and tax incentives, including up to $150 million in capital grants and up to $75 million in Excelsior Tax Credits for projects and activities identified by each of the state’s 10 regional councils.

In addition, more than $525 million from state agency programs will be awarded through the Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) process.

This year, FLREDC, headed by co-chairs Anne Kress and Robert Duffy, are recommending 19 priority projects to advance the region’s Finger Lakes Forward growth objectives. The projects represent up to $28 million in requested state funding, leveraging $127 million in private and other funding.

“We have provided our annual progress report to the state,” Kress and Duffy said in a joint statement. “Together, we are working to ensure a prosperous future for the region as we measure the performance and progress of our strategic plan and implement the strategies that will be used to achieve economic development success now and in the future as the Finger Lakes moves forward.”

This year’s REDC competition will pit each of the agencies against each other for the designation of Top Performer. Five Top Performers will be selected and will receive a share of $100 million in Empire State Development capital grant funding, with the remaining five regions receiving a share of $50 million in ESD grant funding.

Each region also will be eligible for up to $75 million in Excelsior Tax Credits. Each region also will receive $10 million for the state’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative, which in 2020 will be in its fourth year. The third-round DRI recipient in the Finger Lakes Region was the village of Penn Yan.

This year’s grant recommendations include:

• The Strong National Museum of Play Project, 2020 Expansion, $5.6 million of the total project cost of $28 million;
• City of Rochester, Parcel 5, $4.7 million of the total project cost of $23.5 million;
• University of Rochester Medicine Home Care, Rochester Relocation, $4 million of the total project cost of $10 million;
• South Clinton Holdings LLC, Xerox Tower Project, $3 million of the total project cost of $32.3 million;
• Village of Webster, Xerox Park Economic Access Project, $1.84 million of the total project cost of $9.2 million;
• Roberts Wesleyan College, Community Engagement Center, $1.75 million of the total project cost of $13.5 million;
• Clifton Land Company, Liberty Lofts in Penn Yan, $1.7 million of the total project cost of $8.5 million;
• Village of Dundee, Waste Water Treatment Plant and Collection System Improvements, $1.65 million of the total project cost of $8.23 million;
• Livingston County Economic Development, Livingston County Public Market, $1 million of the total project cost of $5 million;
• Rochester Institute of Technology, Bio-Microsystems Expansion, $750,000 of the total project cost of $3.75 million;
• Select Fabricators, Building Construction, $700,000 of the total project cost of $3.5 million;
• CCMI Inc. Building Expansion, $500,000 of the total project cost of $2 million;
• Finger Lakes Area Counseling & Recovery Agency, FLACRA Services Building Project, $598,000 of the total project cost of $3 million;
• Clifton Springs Area YMCA, Renovation Expansion Project, $300,000 of the total project cost of $1.5 million;
• Finger Lakes Extrusion, Business Expansion, $167,900 of the total project cost of $839,500;
• Jamko Technical Solutions, Vactor Truck, $100,000 of the total project cost of $250,000
• Molecular Glasses, Product Testing Equipment, $88,000 of the total project cost of $440,000;
• Village of Arcade, Downtown Enhancement Project, $54,652 of the total project cost of $273,260; and
• Rochester Childfirst Network, Eliminating Childcare Barriers to Employment Study, $30,000 of the total project cost of $1,160,000

Each of the 28 projects recommended for funding in 2019 is on schedule, according to the progress report.

The FLREDC held five public meetings this year, with a special focus on the issue of workforce development, the progress report states. With area businesses struggling to find skilled workers and with implementation of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Workforce Development Initiative kicking off in 2019, the council devoted two meetings to those topics.

The report’s message from Kress and Duffy notes that “the greatest economic opportunity for our region is to retain and expand existing businesses in New York State.”

“The FLREDC has seen many successes over the past year including Z-Axis, ITX, Security Risk Advisors, Fieldtex, Tompkins Metal Finishing, Monro, REDCOM, Evolve Additive Solutions, Amada Tool America, Innovative Solutions, Hickey Freeman, RealEats and more. Each one of these victories is reflective of growing jobs and economic prosperity for our region,” Kress and Duffy wrote in their message. “Had the FLREDC not done this important work in partnership with regional economic development agencies and local and state government, these companies may have made decisions to leave our region or go out of business.”

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