Empire State Development

In New York State, the numbers look a little shaky, right? And a lot of times those numbers, you'll see that there's more contracts being awarded to women-owned businesses and less being awarded to minority-owned businesses.

So there's a gap that New York State and Empire State Development say that, hey, we're going to fill this gap.

We want 30% of contracts going to minority women businesses.

and women-owned businesses, and they couple them together.

She is on their semiconductor team.

She runs that department.

We have Rodney Smith from Empire State Development that is with Buffalo Go Semi.

And they're going to be flying in from New York City to talk about that.

We really have good momentum here," he said.

The keynote speaker of the conference was Christian Mercurio, the senior director of site development with Empire State Development.

Mercurio acknowledged that there may be housing developers in the mix, but his focus is strictly on industrial development.

He said across the nation and even the globe, developers want sites that are ready to be used.

[beep] Out of New York, Rippling has officially opened a 132,000 square foot office at 330 West 34th Street in Midtown Manhattan, making... marking one of the largest physical real estate commitments by an HR technology company in New York in recent years.

Designed to accommodate over 1,000 employees, the Penn District hub is backed by, uh, $3.4 million in state performance tax incentives, uh, via Empire State Development, tied to creating at least 371 new tech and go-to-market roles.

Historically popular among early-stage startups and high-growth mid-market firms, Rippling has spent the past two years repositioning itself from, uh, nimble SMB all-in-one platform into a serious contender for large enterprise contracts, so they say.

To challenge enterprise stalwarts like Workday, SAP, SuccessFactors, uh, HR tech platforms require deep access to Fortune 500 decision-makers, financial institutions, and multinational talent pools, networks heavily concentrated on the East Coast.

So basically, you're not going to be able to be permitted to build a data center for a year while the government kind of tries to figure some stuff out and trying to figure out how are we doing this without really harming everybody in the process.

As a part of that executive order, the Empire State Development, or ESD, has issued a community investment framework, which is meant to provide guidance to local entities to help them negotiate community benefits as part of any large-scale data center deal, including local infrastructure improvement, child care investments, and direct financial support for the actual community itself.

It's a very, very local fight.

Yeah, so as you can tell, a lot of people are paying attention to this issue.

Applicants, [sighs] applicants for the small grants must contribute 10% of the total project cost, while applicants seeking anchor grants must invest 10% in funds that are not borrowed and must be paid back.

The funds, which began last year, operated by the state's Empire State Development Corporation, previously provided $10 million for more than 30 commercial and mixed-use projects.

"This fund is about community-led revitalization from breathing new life into historic storefronts to transforming our commercial corridors," Hochul said in a statement.

"With this additional $10 million, we are building on Buffalo's momentum, turning vacant spaces into vibrant community spaces, and ensuring families and business owners share in our city's success." Hochul, a Buffalo-born Democrat running for re-election against Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Republican, credited Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, a Democrat from Buffalo who's retiring at the end of the year, for helping to secure the money.

The New York Forward grant application lists Peak Development Partners' Twenty-one to Thirty-seven West Main Street project as the village's top priority project.

The, ooh, twenty million nine hundred and fifty-six thousand dollar project requested one point seven five million dollars in New York Forward funding to go with nineteen million two hundred and six thousand dollars in private funding, Empire State Development Capital, and Pro Housing Capital.

Uh, okay, I don't think I read that correctly.

So about the money again, the New York Forward [thud] grant application lists Peak Development Partners' Twenty-one to Thirty-seven West Main Street project as the village's top priority project.

The twenty million nine hundred and fifty-six thousand dollar project requested one point seven five million dollars in New York Forward funding to go with nineteen million two hundred and six thousand dollars in private funding, Empire State Development Capital, and Pro Housing Capital.

The mixed-use project will feature two four-story buildings with commercial space on the ground floor and fifty-four apartments above them.

This time feels a little different than past extensions.

Building Buffalo Roots is transforming vacant properties into quality, affordable homes for low and moderate income buyers.

The program is supported by eleven point one million in American Rescue Plan funding awarded to the City of Buffalo, thirteen point five million awarded to Erie County, and a one million dollar grant awarded from Empire State Development County Infrastructure Grant Program.

The combined investment will support the construction of forty-seven homes throughout Buffalo.

"The first closing represents exactly what Building Buffalo Roots was created to accomplish, giving a Buffalo family the opportunity to own a quality home, build equity, and put down lasting roots in our city," said Mayor Ryan.

I had the opportunity to help develop Buffalo, Buffalo Build Roots during my time with Erie County," Deputy Mayor Thomas Bain said.

"It is incredibly rewarding to see how the program welcomes its first owner and create real pathways to homeownership for Buffalo families.

This partnership is transforming vacant land into quality, affordable homes where the residents can build equity, invest in their future, and put down lasting roots." "We are proud to support the Buffalo Building Roots program through Governor Hochul's County Infrastructure Grant Program, which funded the vital water lines, sewers, and utility systems for these homes," said Empire State Development President and CEO Hope Knight.

"By modernizing local infrastructure, New York State is directly driving economic development, enhancing our neighborhoods, and opening doors to new housing and tourism opportunities." Applications for newly listed homes will open Saturday, September twelfth at two PM.

City of Erie County Executive Mark Poloncar is often a critic of tax breaks.

The project is still dependent on other approvals, however, including municipal permitting, as well as grants or other financing from other agencies, including Empire State Development Corporation.

Separately, the ECIDA also received a $70,000 grant from Erie County to pay for the painting and stenciling of the Route 75 railroad bridge that carries the Buffalo Southern Railroad over Camp Road.

The county owns the short-term railroad from Buffalo to Gawanda, while the ECIDA manages it.

at an additional cost of $12.5 million.

So the ECIDA agreed to increase the total sales tax saving by 50% to $1.23 million, along with added property tax breaks in exchange for another 40 jobs.

Empire State Development Corporation also provided more than $1 million in Excelsior job tax credits.

So good news for Western New York.