ONEIDA — The Greater Oneida Chamber of Commerce recently held a ribbon-cutting event at the Vyronika Skin and Lash Studio’s (www.skinandlashstudio.com) new location on the first floor at 248 Main St. in Oneida.

Vyronika Skin and Lash Studio says it offers a full aesthetics menu including customized facials, chemical peels, cosmetic facial, targeted treatments, eyelash extension and lash lift, full-body waxing services, and back and body treatments, as well as Reiki- guided energy treatments. The studio also offers Dermalogica skin-care products for home care and lash aftercare for retail. 

Irene Kiner, owner of the business, is a licensed esthetician, certified in lash extensions, lash lifting, holds a certification in Reiki II, and is a member of the Associated Skin Care Professionals. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University and is a graduate of the Continental School of Beauty. Kiner is currently enrolled in advanced courses and will be adding microdermabrasion, micro needling, and dermaplaning to the business’s service menu this year. 

SYRACUSE — Cleveland, Ohio–based KeyBank (NYSE: KEY) in early 2017 announced its five-year, national community-benefits plan that includes $16.5 billion in investments across the communities it serves.

The blueprint “addresses concerns expressed by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) and NCRC member organizations, in light of KeyBank’s … acquisition of First Niagara,” according to a description on the KeyBank website.

The Washington, D.C.–based NCRC works with “community leaders, policymakers and financial institutions to champion fairness in banking, housing and business,” according to its website. 

KeyCorp, the parent company of KeyBank, acquired Buffalo–based First Niagara Financial Group in 2016, adding to its presence in Central New York and the broader upstate New York region.

Local impact

KeyBank expects to allocate up to 35 percent of the overall $16.5 billion figure in the overlapping KeyBank and First Niagara markets in upstate New York and Pennsylvania.

“That’s where we expect more than a third of … the $16.5 billion to go to,” says Don Graves, Jr., head of corporate responsibility at KeyBank. He spoke with CNYBJ on May 2 at the KeyBank office at 201 S. Warren St. in Syracuse.

“The $16.5 billion is focused on low and moderate-income communities in our footprint,” Graves notes.

In the program’s first year, KeyBank spent close to $30 million in 2017 in supporting affordable-housing projects in the Syracuse area with low-income tax credits and affordable-housing loans, says Stephen Fournier, market president for KeyBank in Central New York. Fournier joined Graves for the CNYBJ interview on May 2.

The projects include the Harborbrook Apartments near the Centers at St. Camillus in Geddes. The bank also made about $1.2 million in donations to nonprofit organizations, including a $200,000 donation to the Syracuse Rescue Mission last October to help cover costs in its $6.5 million renovation and expansion of the organization’s food-services center.

The KeyBank Business Boost & Build program on May 1 announced it had awarded $115,000 to CenterState CEO. The funding will help expand its UP Start Syracuse program in collaboration with the Upstate Minority Economic Alliance (UMEA). It’ll also help its support of the South Side Innovation Center (SSIC) at 2610 S. Salina St. in Syracuse and Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship (WISE). 

Types of investments 

The KeyBank plan in its overall footprint includes $5 billion worth of investments in mortgage lending and $8.8 billion of investments in community-development lending.

“These are for projects that help build and sustain communities, mixed-use projects, affordable-housing developments,” says Graves.

The plan also includes $2.5 billion in small-business investments, along with $175 million that KeyBank plans for philanthropic investments across the footprint. It also includes an additional $3 million that the bank has set aside for innovation projects.

Graves joined Fournier to visit with a local advisory council for input on what local projects and issues KeyBank’s plan could benefit as the program continues. Fournier says the council includes the City of Syracuse, the Gifford Foundation of Syracuse, and Syracuse–based Home HeadQuarters Inc.

Fournier called it a “collaborative process” as KeyBank works with community stakeholders to figure out how to get people out of poverty and have a “broader impact on the community.” 

It’s a group that Graves hopes will “give me a better flavor of the types of issues that folks are dealing with and everyday challenges.” 

In his new role as KeyBank’s head of corporate responsibility, Graves is succeeding Bruce Murphy, who is vacating the position. Graves is working with Murphy as he transitions into the role. His office is in Cleveland, Ohio, he says.

Graves has worked for KeyBank for more than a year, originally hired as senior VP and senior director of corporate community initiatives and relations, according to his LinkedIn page. 

UNION — A firm based in Saratoga Springs, north of Albany, will lead a consulting group in conducting a redevelopment study on 600 Main St. in the town of Union, the former site of the defense contractor BAE Systems.

The Agency selected Elan Planning Design and Landscape Architecture to lead the group, it said in a May 3 news release.

The Agency is the entity that governs the Broome County Industrial Development Agency and the Broome County Local Development Corporation.

Elan has included two Binghamton–based firms — Griffiths Engineering, LLC and Woidt Engineering & Consulting, PC — in its consulting group. Both firms have “extensive” experience with post-2006 and 2011 flood-mitigation efforts, the Agency said. 

Elan will also work with Venue Strategies, which has offices in New York City and Buffalo, to conduct an economic analysis of potential uses, the Agency said.

The Agency also expects to work closely with Town of Union’s economic-development and planning departments to ensure that uses identified align with the town and the county’s comprehensive plans, the organization said.

“Critical” priority

The Agency has identified the redevelopment of 600 Main St. as a “critical” economic development priority in the year ahead, the organization said. 

“This property is in the center of our urban core and it’s imperative that we identify the right development opportunity,” Stacey Duncan, deputy director of community and economic development at The Agency, said in the release. “Elan has put together a great team and understands our goals for this study. We are looking forward to working with them.”

The U.S. Air Force in 2017 demolished the BAE building, which was “devastated” by flooding from Tropical Storm Lee in 2011, the Agency said. 

The Agency now owns the property and will work with Elan’s team to identify site-development costs; assess flood-mitigation needs; and conduct economic analyses for potential uses. The Agency expects to issue a developer request-for-proposal later this year.

The Elan firm is “extremely excited” to help the Agency and the Town of Union work on the redevelopment of this “key” site, Lisa Nagle, principal of Elan Planning, said in the Agency’s news release.

“Repurposing previously developed sites in our urban centers is key to the long term sustainability of our upstate New York communities. Integrating recent investments such as the Binghamton University Pharmacy School, the planned nursing school, and the Johnson City Health and Cultural iDistrict present opportunities to think broadly about revitalization,” said Nagle.

Agency officials expect the consultants to complete final recommendations for the redevelopment of the property by November of this year.

The office of U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) assisted in securing grant funds from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of Economic Adjustment to complete the redevelopment study and create a master plan for the 27-acre site.

The federal government approved more than $200,000 for the project, according to a Jan. 10 news release posted on the Agency’s website.

“I worked hard to deliver the federal resources to resurrect the flood-damaged former BAE site, and the selection of a firm to lead a comprehensive redevelopment study is welcome news. In no time, this vacant lot will be bustling with new development and activity, making a positive contribution to Broome County’s economy.” Schumer said in the Agency’s release.