More than a decade of planning, preparation, promotion, lobbying, public hearings, and approvals have finally culminated in the first shovel in the ground for the Western New York Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park (STAMP) in the northwest corner of Genesee County.
Contractors are making room for roads along with water, sewer, and electrical transmission lines, clearing brush and trees and grading the ground to specifications.
"We're pretty excited to be moving forward on infrastructure and breaking ground and turning it into a modern business park," said Mark Masse, VP of operations for Genesee County Economic Development Corporation.
The infrastructure project, which includes a new water main being installed down Judge Road in Oakfield to Route 77 and then out to STAMP, is covered by a $33 million budget appropriations in New York's 2014 state budget.
The new sewer system is still in the design and approval process and electrical won't be completed until the first tenant -- probably 1366 Technologies -- designs its project and specifies its electrical needs, but all of that infrastructure will be covered by the 2014 budget appropriations.
The new Oakfield-Alabama water line will carry 200,000 gallons of water a day to the Town of Alabama and STAMP. A second water line will also be installed from Pembroke to STAMP, which will provide 600,000 to 800,000 gallons per day of capacity, giving STAMP access to nearly one million gallons of water a day.
As for 1366, the company continues to be engaged with GCEDC in preparations for construction of its solar wafer manufacturing plant, but is still awaiting final approval of a loan guarantee by the Department of Energy. The Trump Administration has yet to fill vacancies on the DoE's board, which must authorize final approval.
Rachael J. Tabelski, GCEDC's director of marketing and communications, said both Rep. Chris Collins and the office of Sen. Charles Schumer have been engaged in trying to help move the process along.
Tabelski also said tech companies looking for locations such at STAMP have shown a good deal of interest in the project. GCEDC has received 14 requests for information and hosted 10 site visits. The projects combined represent a total of $11.5 billion in investments.
"The sales funnel is full," Tabelski said. "There's a lot of interest in STAMP, so it's a matter of when not if."
When that when arrives, Genesee County and the entire region will be expected to provide the employees for these new companies, so GCEDC is also aggressively pursuing workforce development projects with area schools, colleges and universities, Tabelski said.
"There is going to be a need in mechatronics, nano technology, and STEM at all levels of these companies," Tabelski said. "We will have a need for all of these kinds of workers."
(STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering (and) Math.)
