ROME — The Air Force Civil Engineer Center (AFCEC) on Tuesday transferred Building 101 at the Griffiss Business and Technology Park in Rome to the Oneida County Industrial Development Agency (IDA).

Building 101 is a hangar and apron area used for aircraft repair and maintenance, the AFCEC said in a news release.

The parcel represented the last available piece of federally owned land at the park, the former Griffiss Air Force Base (AFB). 

The Air Force is retaining about one-fourth of the building to be used for research and development, AFCEC said.

The transfer to the IDA is a “major step” in completing the redevelopment of the Griffiss Business and Technology Park, Michael McDermott, Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) environmental coordinator, said in the news release.

“Complete ownership of all the non-federal property allows the community greater flexibility in the reuse and future redevelopment decisions. Although this milestone is significant, the Air Force is still responsible for and looking forward to completing the total cleanup of the former base,” McDermott said.

To date, AFCEC has invested more than $170 million in BRAC cleanup actions at the former installation. Another $11.2 million is budgeted to complete cleanup, the AFCEC said.

The Griffiss Local Development Corporation manages the redevelopment of the former Griffiss AFB, including Building 101.

Both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation agreed that the property was suitable for reuse prior to the transfer, the AFCEC said.

Although the property transfer is complete, the Air Force remains responsible for achieving the environmental cleanup goals, the center added.

The Griffiss Business and Technology Park is a 3,500-acre development that includes nearly 80 businesses; the Griffiss International Airport that Oneida County operates; and several agencies of the U.S. Department of Defense, including the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Rome Research Site, the Defense Financing and Accounting Service, and Eastern Air Defense Sector.

The park presently employs about 6,200 people who work in the aviation, education, manufacturing, office, recreation and technology fields, according to the AFCEC news release.

Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, the Air Force Civil Engineer Center manages the former Griffiss AFB, one of 40 former Air Force installations.

BRAC selected Griffiss for closure and realignment as part of its decisions in 1993, 1995, and 2005.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

OWEGO — Upstate Shredding, LLC and its sister business Ben Weitsman & Son, Inc. have announced the asset acquisition of Jack’s Recycling in Mt. Morris, Pa.

Mt. Morris, Pa. is about 65 miles south of Pittsburgh near the West Virginia border.

Upstate Shredding-Ben Weitsman, which says it’s the largest, privately owned scrap dealer on the East Coast,  didn’t release financial terms of the all-cash transaction, which will close within 30 days, the company said in a news release.

Founded in 1962, Jack’s Recycling will now be known as Ben Weitsman of Mt. Morris. It currently employs 11 people.

It is a “great strategic move” for expanding the firm’s reach throughout the Northeast following the announcements of two new shredders under construction in Albany … and New Castle, Pa., Adam Weitsman, owner of Upstate Shredding and Ben Weitsman, said in the news release.

“We do not yet have a location in this region of the Northeast so this acquisition is filling a great need to serve Mt. Morris and the surrounding regions,” said Weitsman.

The yard in Mt. Morris represents the 17th acquisition for Upstate Shredding-Ben Weitsman as the firm pursues a goal of 50 acquisitions, the company said.

Its recent acquisitions, “more than doubling its geographic-market reach,” have included Hornell Waste Material in Hornell and Valley Recycling in Allegany, Upstate Shredding said.

The company plans to continue expanding through acquisitions in the Northeast as 2014 continues, according to the release.

Owego–based Upstate Shredding-Ben Weitsman generated more than $500 million in revenue in 2012.