Naturally Lewis, Inc. unites county economic-development groups

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LOWVILLE, N.Y. — The organizations leading economic-development efforts in Lewis County have formed a new nonprofit called Naturally Lewis, Inc. The groups have been using the phrase Naturally Lewis to brand their efforts and how now adopted the name for the nonprofit organization. The County of Lewis Industrial Development Agency (LCIDA), Lewis County Development Corporation […]

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LOWVILLE, N.Y. — The organizations leading economic-development efforts in Lewis County have formed a new nonprofit called Naturally Lewis, Inc.

The groups have been using the phrase Naturally Lewis to brand their efforts and how now adopted the name for the nonprofit organization.

The County of Lewis Industrial Development Agency (LCIDA), Lewis County Development Corporation (LCDC), and the Lewis County Chamber of Commerce created Naturally Lewis, Inc., per the announcement.

It happened over several months in 2023 and is described as a collaboration that will consolidate services, staffing and resources into a “one-stop shop” for economic and business-development efforts.

“Hearing the needs of the community,” the LCIDA, LCDC and Chamber of Commerce say they “saw an opportunity” to merge resources, operations, and staff to streamline economic and business development across Lewis County to reduce duplication of efforts and provide “clear and concise messaging” on services that are available to the business community.

A new 15-person board of directors will lead the new nonprofit. The organization will also have five staff members, including existing staff of the LCIDA and Lewis County Chamber of Commerce. The new organization didn’t result in any job cuts, Kaylee Tabolt, economic & tourism-development specialist at Naturally Lewis, tells CNYBJ in an email.

“The creation of Naturally Lewis, Inc reflects the continued growth of our economic development and tourism team in Lewis County,” Eric Virkler, new chairman of the Naturally Lewis Inc. board of directors, said in the news release. “Our talented staff and dedicated board members for the LCIDA, LCDC and Chamber of Commerce work incredibly well together. This transition will ensure this cooperative approach continues. There is momentum in the Lewis County economy and Naturally Lewis, Inc. will continue to drive that momentum forward.”

Naturally Lewis is funded through a combination of sources that include membership contributions, local government support, staff services agreements, private donations, and grants, per the announcement.

St. Camillus starts upgrades with $6M in state grants

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GEDDES, N.Y. — Work is underway on a series of facility upgrades at St. Camillus that target its roof, interior flooring, elevators, and parking-lot lighting. The organization says it will use more than $6.4 million in state-grant funding for the effort that will occur in phases over a duration of about a year and a

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GEDDES, N.Y. — Work is underway on a series of facility upgrades at St. Camillus that target its roof, interior flooring, elevators, and parking-lot lighting.

The organization says it will use more than $6.4 million in state-grant funding for the effort that will occur in phases over a duration of about a year and a half, St. Camillus said in a recent announcement.

The nonprofit residential health-care facility is using funding from the second phase of the New York State Health Care Facility Transformation grant program.

“We are thrilled to announce that St. Camillus was recently awarded the funds to make many critical capital improvements which will directly impact operational efficiencies, functionality, safety, regulatory compliance, and support the provision of quality care and services,” Michael Schafer, president of St. Camillus, said in a statement. “On behalf of our staff, residents, patients and communities in which we serve, we greatly appreciate the support from New York State.”

Funding through the New York State Healthcare Facility Transformation grants is specifically earmarked for capital-improvement projects for the St. Camillus facility. The grant award will help support the organization’s initiative to improve the infrastructure and “enhance the homelike environment” for its residents and patients.

The projects include a new roof and new windows on building 1; resident-room furniture; heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning upgrades; third-floor lounge expansion; corridor and resident-room flooring; parking-lot paving and new lighting; a dialysis den; elevator modernization; upgrades to the main entrance; walk-in cooler for the kitchen; call-bell system upgrades; fire-system upgrades; IT-system upgrades; shower-room renovations; resident-bathroom renovations; and upgrades to chapel gardens, per the announcement.

St. Camillus is located at 813 Fay Road in the town of Geddes. Its continuum of care includes skilled nursing (long-term care) and sub-acute rehabilitation. In addition, St. Camillus says it provides the only state-certified, brain-injury rehabilitation program in Central New York.

VIP Structures names new senior project manager

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — VIP Structures, an integrated design-build firm, has recently appointed Adam Legg as a senior project manager. In this role, Legg is undertaking a multifaceted portfolio of responsibilities including overseeing project budgets, schedules, logistics planning, safety, and contract management, as well as ensuring coordination among various stakeholders, the Syracuse–based company announced. With more

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NYISO’s new chief operating officer starts her position

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RENSSELAER, N.Y. — Emilie Nelson on Oct. 1 started her new position as chief operating officer (COO) of the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO), which oversees the state’s power grid. The NYISO announced on Sept. 27 that its board of directors had promoted Nelson, a longtime employee, to executive VP and COO from her

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Oneida County completes upgrades to wastewater system

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UTICA, N.Y. — Oneida County announced it has completed capital projects to upgrade and expand the county’s water-pollution-control plant in Utica and the Sauquoit Creek pumping station in Yorkville. The projects fulfill a consent order issued by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). The county has worked with the DEC for more than

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The projects fulfill a consent order issued by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). The county has worked with the DEC for more than a decade to improve the county’s wastewater infrastructure, County Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr. said in a news release. “Not only do these upgrades fulfill the requirement of the consent order, but they greatly improve the quality of life for our residents and position our region for promising economic development opportunities moving forward.”

The upgrades to the wastewater plant increased capacity from 55 million gallons per day to 111 million. The Oneida County Sewer District serves 15 member municipalities.

The project represents the closure of Consent Order R6-20060823-67, executed by the county and DEC in 2007 to eliminate sanitary-sewer overflows into the Mohawk River. The order was revised in 2011 to include requirements for upgrades to the water-pollution-control plant and Sauquoit Creek pumping station and force main. It also included substantial rehabilitation work within the town and village sewer systems.

Since then, the county and Oneida County Sewer District-member municipalities made about $380 million in investments, supported by funding secured through the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC). The EFC provided $354 million in assistance, including $30 million in grants.

“Oneida County has diligently taken the lead to coordinate and collaborate with its municipal users to implement improvements to the sewer district as a whole,” DEC Region 6 Director Randall C. Young said in the release. “DEC appreciates the county’s ongoing commitment to upgrade and rehabilitate various system components outside of the required scope of the consent order, now and into the future.”

Oneida County will continue to make improvements to the wastewater system.

“Although the work directly associated with the consent order is complete, we remain committed to continuous system improvements and maintenance,” Karl Schrantz, Oneida County Department of Water Quality and Water Pollution Control commissioner, said. “Ongoing initiatives include continued, close collaboration with sewer-district municipalities as they maintain their sanitary sewer collection systems, including mitigation of private property inflow and infiltration.”

The Village of New Hartford is one of the municipalities that has done significant work on its system and continues to work with the county.

“The Village of New Hartford has repaired many miles of pipe, all manholes have been rehabilitated and the few areas where sewer and storm water were connected have been separated,” New Hartford Mayor Don Ryan said in the release. “The county has helped us identify areas of the system that need further work, and we will continue those efforts through an ongoing village sewer rehab fund and hopefully a grant that will allow the village to conduct work on private properties.”

The Town of Whitestown has also overseen sewer-system rehab projects throughout the town.

“The early stage of engineering studies enabled us to identify the most serious problem areas,” said Whitestown Supervisor Shaun Kaleta. “We must continue to address critical infrastructure, focus investments on high-impact areas and educate our residents not only about our work, but how they, too, can make a difference.”

City Center has new tenants, new look after major renovation

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Anyone traveling in downtown Syracuse over the past several months likely saw the exterior renovation work on the building now known as City Center. It’s a structure spanning a city block between two busy downtown intersections that now has new tenants and a new look after a major renovation project that started

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Anyone traveling in downtown Syracuse over the past several months likely saw the exterior renovation work on the building now known as City Center.

It’s a structure spanning a city block between two busy downtown intersections that now has new tenants and a new look after a major renovation project that started earlier in the decade.

The entity 400 S. Salina Street LLC on Oct. 10 formally reopened City Center at 400 S. Salina St. in Syracuse, the structure that was previously home to the Sibley’s department store beginning in 1968 and was later converted into an office building in the early 1990s, per a news release about the project.

The building is bordered by South Salina, West Jefferson, and South Clinton Streets in the downtown area.

City Center is now home to the Hayner Hoyt Corporation, Huntington Ingalls Mission Technologies, CXtec and TERACAI, the Redhouse Arts Center, and Tompkins Community Bank.

“I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that there’s still space left in the building,” Jeremy Thurston, president of the Hayner Hoyt Corporation, said to conclude his remarks during the late-morning formal-opening ceremony in the building’s courtyard area.

“This redevelopment would not have been possible with the vision of the Redhouse Arts Center,” Thurston said to open his remarks. “[Hayner Hoyt CEO Gary Thurston] and I joined them as partners later on. I want to thank them very much for allowing us to partner in the redevelopment, both as contractor and as a partner in the redevelopment.”

The project included a more than $40 million investment to complete the renovation of the 230,000-square-foot building with an attached 700-car parking garage.

Thurston also noted the cooperation of the City of Syracuse, specifically its building, engineering, and public works departments, and the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency.

Empire State Development provided financial support in the form of $4.1 million in grants for the project.

“This is more than a capital project. It was an investment to support the continued revitalization of the city’s urban core,” Hope Knight, president, CEO, and commissioner of Empire State Development, said in her remarks during the ceremony. “Projects like this represent how we’re investing in communities across the state. With strategic public-private partnerships like this one, we’re helping to bring new life into downtowns.”

Thurston also acknowledged the involvement of Tompkins Community Bank, Pathfinder Bank, and Adirondack Bank as financial lenders for the project.

He also thanked CenterState CEO and the Downtown Committee of Syracuse, Inc. for their marketing support and tenant referrals for the project as well.

Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh called it a “truly transformational project.”

“For me, in order to fully maximize this opportunity and this moment, we need to make sure that our core, our center, the city center is as strong as possible,” Walsh said at the ceremony. “And if we can continue to build out from the center, we are going to achieve great things in this region. And this project is a perfect example of where we are doubling down in the heart of our city, in the heart of our region in a way that is going to benefit the entire region.”

Besides Thurston, Knight, and Walsh, other speakers included Onondaga County Deputy County Executive Brian Donnelly; Andy Green, executive VP of Huntington Ingalls and president of Huntington Ingalls Mission Technologies; Peter Belyea, CEO of CXtec and TERACAI; Franklin Fry, executive director of the Redhouse Arts Center; and Merike Treier, executive director of the Downtown Committee of Syracuse, Inc.

Employees from interior tenants observed the ceremony on a balcony above the courtyard.

Hayner Hoyt announced the beginning of work on the redevelopment project in a ceremony at the Redhouse Arts Center on Jan. 19, 2022.

Prudent Engineering names new marketing manager

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DeWITT, N.Y. — Timothy Greene was recently appointed as marketing manager at Prudent Engineering, LLP. Greene will lead and oversee the DeWitt–based engineering firm’s marketing program including internal and external-communications efforts, the firm said in a release. His responsibilities encompass development of marketing strategies for business development, client relations, and employee recruitment, as well as

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CNY Ronald McDonald House seeks to boost capacity with $1M project

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — It’s expected that construction work on a $1 million renovation project at the Central New York Ronald McDonald House will begin this fall. Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central New York (RMHC of CNY) on Sept. 21 announced it is planning the project to create new family suites. The effort seeks to

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — It’s expected that construction work on a $1 million renovation project at the Central New York Ronald McDonald House will begin this fall.

Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central New York (RMHC of CNY) on Sept. 21 announced it is planning the project to create new family suites.

The effort seeks to “meet the evolving needs of families,” RMHC of CNY said.

Construction on the expansion project will be managed by Zausmer-Frisch Scruton & Aggarwal, which designed and built the Central New York Ronald McDonald House in 2011 and 2012.

The local Ronald McDonald House is situated at 1100 E. Genesee St. in Syracuse. It serves as a temporary home for families with seriously ill children who travel to the city for medical care.

RMHC of CNY wants to renovate more than 9,000 square feet of unfinished space on the house’s fourth floor, adding six new family suites to increase the capacity of the home. The project will also enable the nonprofit to “better accommodate” large and multigenerational guest families.

“For more than 40 years, the CNY Ronald McDonald House has been a place of love and support for families facing the unthinkable. While that will never change, we recognize that the needs of our guest families are growing, and so our House must too,” Beth Trunfio, executive director of RMHC of CNY, said in a release. “We’re excited to build out our fourth floor with new family suites that will enable us to keep even more families comfortable and close when it matters most.”

The six new suites will enable the nonprofit to offer more family-centered spaces to large and multigenerational families while giving working parents and family members a designated space to work remotely during their stay. Additionally, the suites will provide a private living space for families with children who are immunocompromised, RMHC of CNY said.

“When a family stays with us, parents, grandparents and siblings often stay at the House in order to remain together,” Trunfio noted. “Our new family suites will help us to better serve those families, while increasing our capacity so that we may continue to serve even more families in need in the years ahead — especially as local hospitals continue to expand their services and future population growth is expected in the area.”

The Central New York Ronald McDonald House says it provides guest families with the convenience of a comfortable room and warm bed, home-cooked meals and snacks, and support and compassion — all at no cost to the families — while allowing them to stay close to Syracuse–area hospitals and medical centers.

In the first six months of this year, 415 family members stayed at the CNY Ronald McDonald House for a total of 1,782 nights, the nonprofit said.

Luminary Electrical owner named NY minority entrepreneur of year

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Owner Shawni Davis says the summer is always the busiest season for Luminary Electrical. She noted that the electrical contractor is doing work for the new stadium project for the Buffalo Bills, a project at the Corning Museum of Glass, and the ongoing work on rest stops along the New York State

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Owner Shawni Davis says the summer is always the busiest season for Luminary Electrical.

She noted that the electrical contractor is doing work for the new stadium project for the Buffalo Bills, a project at the Corning Museum of Glass, and the ongoing work on rest stops along the New York State Thruway.

“So, we’re pretty busy,” Davis said in speaking with reporters on Sept. 29.

She spoke after the New York State Small Business Development Center (SBDC) recognized her with its 2023 Minority Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Luminary Electrical operates on the second floor of the Lincoln Building at 109 Otisco St. on Syracuse’s Near Westside.

Sonya Smith, state director of the New York SBDC, presented the award to Davis during a noon-hour ceremony at Luminary Electrical. Davis is a client of the SBDC at Onondaga Community College (OCC).

“With women still being recognized as vastly underrepresented in decision making, whether it’s in politics, business, or communities, this is really important for an award to show the strong leadership … her [staff] and team being here to support her, the community itself, but then also the SBDC and [OCC] and SBA,” Smith said in her remarks before presenting the award.

Luminary Electrical has 15 years of experience performing commercial and industrial electrical work, per an OCC announcement. Luminary Electrical is a minority & women-owned business enterprise certified master licensed contractor, and a member of the National Electric Contractors Association, the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

“I am the face of the company but quite honestly, without my staff … this would not be possible, so I really want to just take the time to appreciate you all for what you do,” Davis said in her remarks. “You make us shine.”

Bob Griffin, regional director of the SBDC at OCC, opened the ceremony, referencing a March 2022 article about Davis on the SBDC website.

Davis had reached out to the New York SBDC regional office at OCC in October 2020 for basic startup information. At the time, she was assigned to work with senior business advisor Frank Cetera who talked her through a review of startup mechanics and logistics, business planning, and developing a cash-flow budget, Griffin explained.

“As the startup progressed, Shawni returned to speak with Frank about MWBE certification in January 2021. Frank discussed the process, provided direction, which Shawni then ran with to gain her certification. In August ‘21, Frank continued to work with Shawni on developing an updated business plan, financial statements, and a basic audit review of her marketing materials and website. And then they turned to submitting their first application for line of credit financing,” Griffin said.

He went on to say, “What is so meaningful to us … is that we were able to play a small role in being there to help.”

The Small Business Development Center at OCC offers no-cost, confidential business-advisement services to people and companies throughout its six-county region.

The New York SBDC is administered by SUNY and funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration, the State of New York, and host campuses, per the SBDC website.

Daniel Rickman, director of the Syracuse-Upstate New York office of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), was among the attendees at the event.

SUNY uses sustainability bonds to raise $113M for its residency-hall program

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ALBANY, N.Y. — SUNY says the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) raised $113 million to support SUNY’s residence-hall program. DASNY raised the funding through its first-ever issuance of sustainability bonds, per a Sept. 13 announcement. The authority issued SUNY dormitory facilities revenue bonds with a sustainability designation. SUNY will use proceeds

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ALBANY, N.Y. — SUNY says the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) raised $113 million to support SUNY’s residence-hall program.

DASNY raised the funding through its first-ever issuance of sustainability bonds, per a Sept. 13 announcement. The authority issued SUNY dormitory facilities revenue bonds with a sustainability designation.

SUNY will use proceeds from the sustainability bonds to develop projects to help SUNY meet Gov. Kathy Hochul’s environmental goals, SUNY said in its announcement. Sustainability bonds finance projects that conform with green and social-bond principles.

All SUNY projects are required to comply with the NYStretch Energy Code – 2020. Projects will include the construction and rehabilitation of dormitory facilities on various SUNY campuses aligned with sustainability-bond guidelines. Expenditures include electrical projects, HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) upgrades, and roofing improvements.

“Given that SUNY represents 40 percent of all state-owned buildings in New York, we must lead the way in researching new measures and implementing proven ones to minimize our environmental impact,” SUNY Chancellor John King, Jr., said in a release. “The initial release of sustainability bonds was a huge success, surpassing expectations and receiving more offers to buy than there were bonds available to sell. The $113 million raised from the bonds will allow SUNY to construct new, high-efficiency residence halls, and retrofit existing halls to achieve Governor Hochul’s ambitious state climate goals, which also align with the bond guidelines. I would like to thank our partners at DASNY for supporting SUNY’s sustainability goals.”

SUNY’s residential-hall program includes 450 dorms on 25 state-operated campuses for about 61,000 students each year.

The sustainability designation was provided by Portland, Oregon–based Kestrel, an approved verifier accredited by the Climate Bonds Initiative that reviews and analyzes financings for their ESG (environmental, social, and governance) benefits. Kestrel’s second party opinion confirms alignment with the sustainability bond guidelines of the International Capital Market Association, SUNY said.

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