"We're losing a hundred jobs -- and that's difficult in any day and age," said Chris Suozzi, senior vice president of business development at Genesee County Economic Development Center. "We're very discouraged.
"We offered to do what we could to change their minds. But there are not a lot of tools at our disposal. It's a leased facility (Pioneer's Mill Street Offices). The good news is that Pioneer invested $2 million in it and it's now Class A grade space.
"We're very hopeful we can back fill this space. We've reached out to our marketing partners, who give us tips about companies who might be interested in a space this size."
It's set up as "back office" space and is equipped as a call center. It has 13,500 square feet of renovated space on the ground floor and another 8,500 square feet of unfinished space on the second floor.
GCEDC sold the building to Scott Harris late last year. He's the owner of a door company called Millworks Solutions and, Suozzi said, Harris knew Pioneer was leasing the building on a year-to-year basis. Later this year, Pioneer's lease would have been up for renewal.
Even though Harris will have lots of empty space for awhile, Suozzi said it's prime space, thanks to Pioneer.
