Southern Tier Region, Expansions and Contractions
Disclaimer: The information in this file was extracted from statewide newspaper clippings by Labor Department staff. The New York State Department of Labor is not responsible for the accuracy of these statistics unless they are direct quotes from the Department of Labor.
Expansions, Openings and Recalls
New this Month
Plans are underway for a proposed three-year, $64 million project to convert the former Steuben Glass factory in Corning (Steuben County) into a new wing for the Corning Museum of Glass. The project is expected to break ground in the spring of 2012 and will open in 2014. (Article Date: January 13, 2012)
Norwich Pharmaceuticals will receive $2 million from New York State to increase the company's manufacturing and research and development efforts through equipment purchases and plant improvements at its Norwich (Chenango County) facility. (Article Date: December 9, 2011)
Dairy product manufacturer Agro Farma will receive a tax exemption incentive totaling $3,837,297 to assist with its latest expansion in Columbus (Chenango County). The $134 million expansion project is expected to result in 106 full-time positions. (Article Date: December 8, 2011)
New last Month
Amphenol Aerospace is close to finding a new space for its operations in Sidney (Delaware County) and saving more than 1,000 local jobs. The military and industrial aerospace component production company is getting a business assistance and retention package from New York State for about $20 million. Tropical Storm Lee heavily damaged the plant in September 2011. (Article Date: November 29, 2011)
Systems software manufacturer BAE Systems will stay in the Southern Tier. It is expected to get $40 million in job- and investment-related tax credits over five years for keeping its roughly 1,300 employees in the region. The company’s Westover (Broome County) plant sustained $135 million in damage from flooding in September 2011 related to Tropical Storm Lee, which subsequently led the business to abandon the federally-owned location. (Article Date: November 17, 2011)
Fourteen months after Houston METRO scuttled a $330 million deal that would have brought more than 100 jobs to CAF USA’s Elmira Heights (Chemung County) facility, the two parties have agreed on a new $153 million contract for 39 light rail vehicles that will be made locally. (Article Date: November 17, 2011)
Previously Reported
Many businesses in the region that were impacted by the recent flooding have reopened over the last month as repairs were completed or the firms relocated. (Article Dates: Various from the end of October 2011 through early January 2012).
A pair of construction projects are planned in the Southern Tier region. The Greater Binghamton Airport in the Town of Union (Broome County) will use a $12.3 million federal grant to add 200 feet of safety area to its runway. In addition, ground was broken for the final phase of the $9 million airport runway extension project at the Elmira–Corning Airport in Big Flats (Chemung County). That project is expected to be completed in late 2012. (Article Date: October 11, 2011; Article Date: September 27, 2011)
The 751,000 square-foot CVS Caremark distribution center officially opened in the Town of Chemung (Chemung County). A total of 300 jobs are expected in 2011, and a total of 600 people are expected to be employed there as it ramps up to full capacity in 2012. (Article Date: September 28, 2011)
Ground was broken on the 107-unit Colonial Square senior apartment complex in Gang Mills (Steuben County). The first tenants will be able to move in September 1, 2012, if construction goes as scheduled. (Article Date: August 23, 2011)
TTA Systems, a railcar manufacturer in Hornell (Steuben County), applied for a state community block grant. The grant would bring in $450,000 for new machinery at TTA's Hornell location and would lead to 30 new jobs in 2012-2013. (Article Date: August 22, 2011)
A Five Guys Burger and Fries restaurant recently opened in Big Flats (Chemung County). Construction has also begun on a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Horseheads (Chemung County), which is expected to open in April 2012 with nearly 150 employees. (Article Date: August 18, 2011)
Steel and custom pipe manufacturer Chemung Supply in Horseheads (Chemung County) plans to double its workforce with tax breaks from the county IDA. The company plans to build a 4,500 square-foot office building and two 10,000 square-foot buildings. They also plan to add about 40 to 45 jobs over the next five years. (Article Date: August 18, 2011)
Owners of the Ithaca Beer Company broke ground on a new $3 million, 15,000 square-foot facility in the town of Ithaca (Tompkins County). Construction will begin this fall, and the new facility should be open to the public by June 2012. (Article Date: August 17, 2011)
Binghamton University (Broome County) recently presented a proposal to the NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant Program that will increase enrollment and add jobs to the local community. The program allows the university and three other SUNY schools to apply for up to $35 million in state funds for academic enhancements and capital development. Binghamton University’s proposal includes an expansion of its educational mission along with investments in the campus and local community resulting in an overall annual economic impact of $800 million on the region and $1.1 billion across the state. The five-year plan calls for expanding enrollment by 2,000 students, constructing a new health and natural sciences facility, supporting a new Southern Tier Economic Development Center in downtown Binghamton, and creating 1,300 jobs in the local community -- including 150 faculty positions -- and 1,600 jobs statewide. (Article Date: August 3, 2011)
Plans for a $41 million hotel and convention center at Tioga Downs Casino in Nichols (Tioga County) are under way. The goal is to make the facility more of a play, eat and stay destination for consumers. The hotel will include up to 132 rooms, a convention center with banquet halls for weddings and other events, a restaurant and a covered parking area for up to 224 vehicles. An estimated 75 full-time jobs will be created to staff the hotel. Construction on the hotel is expected to start no later than March 2013 to be completed in 2014. Tioga Downs now has about 300 employees. (Article Date: July 6, 2011)
The Alternate School for Math and Science, a privately-funded school for 6-8th graders which is focused on experiential studies in Corning (Steuben County), broke ground June 25 on a 35,000 square-foot expansion. The project is being funded by Corning Incorporated. The new building will include two science rooms, music rehearsal and instructional space, a gymnasium with shower rooms and storage, an art room, computer network space and an elevated walkway connecting the new building to the existing school. (Article Date: June 15, 2011)
Everpower Wind Holdings and the town of Howard (Steuben County) recently broke ground on the $100 Howard Wind Project, an enterprise establishing 25 wind turbines in the town with the potential for two more in the future. Construction is scheduled for completion by the end of August or early September 2011. The turbines are expected to tie into the grid in mid-October 2011, with an anticipated starting date of December 2011. (Article Date: June 12, 2011)
Miller Environmental Group, Inc. is opening an office in Elmira (Chemung County). The company is involved in the gas drilling industry doing pipeline inspections and cleaning, transporting wastewater and frack (hydraulic fracturing) tank rentals. When the company completes the renovations at the 9,000 square-foot warehouse building and becomes operational, between 12 and 20 employees will be hired during the first year. (Article Date: May 26, 2011)
Corning Community College (CCC) opened a new $4 million athletic facility in Corning (Steuben County). Also in line with the college’s infrastructure upgrades, the Corning Community College board of trustees recently voted unanimously to move forward with a plan to build two 150-bed dormitories on CCC's main campus. (Article Dates: May 24, 2011; May 12, 2011)
Affordable Senior Housing of New York Inc., a Buffalo-area developer, received final approval from the local planning board to develop a 125-unit senior housing complex in Johnson City (Broome County). (Article Date: April 27, 2011)
The Newman Development Group officially broke ground on its $12 million student housing project -- Twin River Commons -- in Binghamton (Broome County). The housing project will open in August 2012 -- in time for the fall semesters at Binghamton University and Broome Community College. (Article Date: April 26, 2011)
Construction began on a new 79-room Homewood Suites hotel in Vestal (Broome County). (Article Date: April 20, 2011)
College Crossings, a new shopping center near Ithaca College (Tompkins County), is planned. The center will contain a bank, retail and food establishments. (Article Date: April 7, 2011)
A project backed by Arrowhead Ventures that would bring a BJ’s Wholesale Club, several units of senior housing and a wetland to the Village of Lansing (Tompkins County) is nearing final approval. BJ’s is expected to employ 78 at the site. (Article Date: March 31, 2011)
Transonic Systems Inc., which manufactures blood flow measurement devices, broke ground on a 30,000 square-foot expansion in Lansing (Tompkins County). The new facility, to be used primarily for manufacturing, is expected to generate about 50 additional jobs over the next three years. (Article Date: March 23, 2011)
United Health Services, which operates a 916-bed hospital and health care system serving the greater Binghamton region, kicked off its fundraising campaign for a $5 million expansion of the ICU at Wilson Medical Center in Johnson City (Broome County). The expansion is the first major upgrade to the unit since the mid-1970s. (Article Date: March 9, 2011)
Construction is under way on the New York State Center of Excellence in Small Scale Systems Integration and Packaging (S3IP) at Binghamton University (Broome County). The $30 million, 114,000 square-foot building will provide space for expansion and consolidation of S3IP and its team of scientists and engineers. The facility will undertake research and commercialization efforts in energy-efficient electronic systems, systems integration and packaging, flexible electronics, autonomous solar power, advanced materials and sensors, and health care and life sciences. The project will support 180 temporary construction jobs. (Article Date: October 14, 2010)
CAF USA, a railway equipment manufacturer with a plant in Elmira Heights (Chemung County), received a five-year, $298.1 million contract from Amtrak. CAF will manufacture and perform final assembly on 130 new single-level rail cars. The contract is expected to create 575 local jobs. The first car should roll off the assembly line in October 2012. CAF USA is a subsidiary of a Spanish company. (Article Date: September 7, 2010)
United Health Services plans to build a $35 million "state-of-the-art medical practice” in Vestal (Broome County). The 85,000 square-foot facility is slated to open in spring 2012. It will include primary care physician offices, a walk-in center, X-ray and other imaging services, and a retail pharmacy. (Article Date: May 17, 2010)
Lourdes Hospital began a three-year, $70 million construction project to update and expand its medical complex in Binghamton (Broome County). The project consists of an expanded emergency department, a new open MRI facility, two new surgical suites, a flood wall, an ambulatory care building, a two-story main entrance connecting the ambulatory building to the main hospital, an expanded radiology department, and a multi-story parking garage. (Article Date: March 12, 2009)
Closings and Contractions
New this Month
Nothing of Relatively Significant Degree to Report
New last Month
Dairy company HP Hood will cease production at their dairy processing plant and warehouse in Binghamton. Fifty-four employees between now and April 1, 2012 will be affected. While the company will close the plant, it will retain about 80 employees in distribution, transportation, administrative and sales work. HP Hood operates Crowley Foods, which has operated a plant in Binghamton since 1915. It produces Crowley, private label and Hood-branded products, including milk, cream, orange juice, buttermilk and assorted drinks. (Article Date: December 7, 2011)
Previously Reported
Vestal Park Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Vestal (Broome County) has temporarily closed due to extensive damage caused by flooding from Tropical Storm Lee. The center hopes to either reopen at a new location or rebuild in the current location. In the meantime, it has rented 85 units from two area nursing centers to relocate patients. Due to the diminished operations, approximately 100 of the current staff of 220 will be laid off. (Article Date: September 16, 2011)
Twenty-seven counties in eastern New York State were declared eligible for federal disaster assistance in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Irene, while 15 counties -- primarily in the Southern Tier and Mohawk Valley -- were similarly impacted by Tropical Storm Lee. The two storms caused major flooding and forced thousands of residents to evacuate their homes. In Binghamton, the Susquehanna River hit a record flood level, surpassing a June 2006 flood that was considered a 100-year event. We are currently assessing the impact of the storms. Flooding-related job losses will not appear in our job figures until the release of September 2011 estimates at the earliest. (Article Date: September 10, 2011)
Labor Disputes
New this month
Nothing to report.
New last Month
Nothing to report.
Previously Reported
Nothing to report.
This report contains information derived from media releases throughout the Southern Tier Region. Information sources include, but are not limited to:
- Action News (WBNG TV)
- FOX 40 (WICZ TV)
- Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin
- News Channel 34 (WIVT/WBGH TV)
- The Canisteo Valley News
- The Cooperstown Crier
- The Cornell Daily Sun
- The Corning Leader
- The Daily Star (Otsego County)
- The Elmira Star Gazette
- The Evening Sun (Chenango County)
- The Greater Binghamton Business Journal
- The Hornell Evening Tribune
- The Ithaca Journal
- The Ithaca Times
- The Lansing Star
- The Observer, Review & Express
- The Odessa File (Schuyler County)
- The Steuben Courier
- YNN News - Binghamton/Oneonta
- YNN News - Elmira/Corning
- YNN News - Ithaca/Cortland
- WENY TV News