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St. Elizabeth campus reuse proposals clear key hurdle with DGEIS
UTICA, N.Y. — The Utica Planning Board, at its Feb. 20 meeting, unanimously voted to deem the Generic Environmental Impact Statement (DGEIS) complete for the re-use alternatives for the former St. Elizabeth Medical Center campus, the city said. The DGEIS evaluated the potential for a host of environmental impacts resulting from the four proposed redevelopment […]
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UTICA, N.Y. — The Utica Planning Board, at its Feb. 20 meeting, unanimously voted to deem the Generic Environmental Impact Statement (DGEIS) complete for the re-use alternatives for the former St. Elizabeth Medical Center campus, the city said.
The DGEIS evaluated the potential for a host of environmental impacts resulting from the four proposed redevelopment scenarios for the former hospital, which closed in October 2023 when Mohawk Valley Health System moved into the new Wynn Hospital in downtown Utica.
The planning board is now inviting public comment on the DGEIS with a public hearing set for 4:30 p.m. on March 20 in the common council chambers at Utica City Hall.
“Public input has been critical at every step along this reuse planning process, and it continues to be as we evaluate the potential impacts,” Mayor Michael P. Galime said in a statement. “While an important step was cleared by the planning board, I look forward to reaching the point in the coming months at which the property can be marketed as its redevelopment represents a considerable expansion of the city’s tax base.”
Proposed reuse ideas for the property include single-family homes, townhouses, multi-family buildings and retail space, or a historic adaptive reuse with multiple forms of housing and retail space.
The planning board also voted to approve an extended public comment period of 60 days on the DGEIS, which is the maximum permitted under the state’s Environmental Quality Review Act.
Information about the project is available on the city’s website.

Qdoba Mexican Eats formally opens at Syracuse airport
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A new location of Qdoba Mexican Eats formally opened at Syracuse Hancock International Airport (SYR) on Friday. The Syracuse Regional Airport Authority

Architect and engineering firm C2AE to formally open new North Country office
CANTON, N.Y. — Architect and engineering firm C2AE will celebrate the formal grand opening of its new office in Canton at 10 a.m. on Thursday,

Upstate University Hospital opens new Throughput Operations Center in DeWitt
DeWITT, N.Y. — Upstate University Hospital has opened a new Throughput Operations Center (TOC) designed to “optimize patient flow” across its Downtown and Community hospital

SUNY Poly gears up for annual business plan competition
UTICA, N.Y. — SUNY Polytechnic Institute will host the Mohawk Valley regional contest for the 2025 New York Business Plan Competition (NYBPC) on April 4,

State Fair says corporate-outings program is available for this summer’s event
GEDDES, N.Y. — This summer’s New York State Fair is still several months away, but officials say interested companies can take advantage of its corporate-outings

Ashley McGraw Architects has appointed Catherine Wolfe as principal, expanding the firm’s leadership team to eight principals. Wolfe, who joined the firm in 2015, has earned

SALINA — Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) recently won a $551 million contract from the U.S. Navy for engineering and technical support and production of the submarine AN/BLQ-10 electronic-warfare systems on new construction and in-service submarines. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this pact to nearly $1.37 billion.,
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SALINA — Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT) recently won a $551 million contract from the U.S. Navy for engineering and technical support and production of the submarine AN/BLQ-10 electronic-warfare systems on new construction and in-service submarines.
This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this pact to nearly $1.37 billion., according to a Feb. 3 contract announcement from the U.S. Department of Defense. Work will be performed in Lockheed’s suburban Syracuse plant and is expected to be completed by January 2030.
Fiscal 2025 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funds of $2 million will be obligated to satisfy the minimum guarantee and begin engineering efforts, and the funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

Five Star Bank parent company boosts quarterly dividend by 3%
WARSAW, N.Y. — Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISI), parent company of Five Star Bank, recently announced that its board of directors has approved a quarterly cash dividend of 31 cents per share of its common stock outstanding. That’s up by 3.3 percent from the 30 cents a share that the banking company paid last quarter.
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WARSAW, N.Y. — Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: FISI), parent company of Five Star Bank, recently announced that its board of directors has approved a quarterly cash dividend of 31 cents per share of its common stock outstanding.
That’s up by 3.3 percent from the 30 cents a share that the banking company paid last quarter.
Financial Institutions will pay the first-quarter dividend on April 2, to shareholders of record as of March 14.
At Financial Institutions’ current stock price, the new dividend yields about 4.35 percent on an annual basis.
Financial Institutions is a financial holding company, based in Warsaw in New York’s Wyoming County, with about $6.1 billion in assets, offering banking and wealth-management products and services. Its Five Star Bank subsidiary provides consumer and commercial banking and lending services to individuals, municipalities, and businesses through banking locations spanning Western and Central New York and a commercial-loan production office serving the Mid-Atlantic region. Five Star Bank’s Central New York offices include a commercial-loan production office in Syracuse and retail branches in Auburn, Waterloo, and Geneva.

Berkshire Bank parent company to pay Q1 dividend of 18 cents in early March
Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: BHLB) — parent company of Berkshire Bank, which has a significant presence in the Mohawk Valley region — recently announced that its board of directors has approved a quarterly cash dividend of 18 cents per common share. The dividend is payable on March 6, to shareholders of record as of
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Berkshire Hills Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: BHLB) — parent company of Berkshire Bank, which has a significant presence in the Mohawk Valley region — recently announced that its board of directors has approved a quarterly cash dividend of 18 cents per common share.
The dividend is payable on March 6, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Feb. 20.
At Berkshire Hills Bancorp’s current stock price, the payment yields about 2.5 percent on an annual basis.
Boston–based Berkshire has about $12.3 billion in total assets and a footprint of 83 branches in New England and New York state. The company offers commercial, retail, wealth, and private-banking products and services.
Berkshire Bank’s Mohawk Valley presence includes branches in Rome (2), New Hartford (2), Whitesboro, North Utica, West Winfield, and Ilion.
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