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FLH College of Nursing and Health Sciences graduates 56 in its 14th class
GENEVA, N.Y. — The 14th class of Finger Lakes Health (FLH) College of Nursing and Health Sciences included 56 students who were pinned and graduated
VIEWPOINT: We’re Preparing for the Next Chapter in our Economic Story
The Greater Binghamton area is at an inflection point. Despite the national and global challenges of recent years, we have seen several important economic metrics moving in the right direction. But have we succeeded in becoming all that we want to be as a community? There are many definitions of success and I’m sure you’ve
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The Greater Binghamton area is at an inflection point. Despite the national and global challenges of recent years, we have seen several important economic metrics moving in the right direction. But have we succeeded in becoming all that we want to be as a community? There are many definitions of success and I’m sure you’ve seen dozens of inspirational quotes about what it is and how to achieve it. Woven into many of these ideas is that preparation is a required ingredient for success. And we here at the Leadership Alliance have made preparations for a vibrant and successful future our most important priority.
The Leadership Alliance was formed in 2019 as a partnership between The Agency (Broome County IDA / LDC) and the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce, with the goal of leveraging the strengths of each organization to direct transformational and sustainable economic and community development. The marriage of these two entities forms a formidable alliance to support new investment, job opportunities, and to be a powerful voice in defining who we want to be as a community.
Since 2019, The Agency has leveraged more than $1 billion in new investments in manufacturing and distribution, housing, health care, and clean-energy projects. The Greater Binghamton Chamber has responded by creating programs and initiatives to support diversity, equity, and inclusion, housing, and childcare and to direct talent and leadership programs, so that the financial investment can be matched with human capital.
I feel the formation of the Leadership Alliance has ushered in a new era of confidence that we are seeing play out throughout the community. We believe it is our responsibility to serve as a positive force that can redirect the tides of negativity and doubt.
We see what happens when we work together and support change. We see cranes going up over the new UHS Wilson Emergency Center and at Oakdale Commons. These two projects combined, support more than
$500 million in new investment in Johnson City, including the construction of the largest Dick’s Sporting Goods House of Sport in the U.S. We see historic and blighted buildings resurrected through the Century Sunrise, Ansco Factory, and more recently, the Victory Lofts project that opened this spring.
We see the support of U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, who secured the third-largest Economic Development Administration award of $63 million for the New Energy New York program and nearly $1 million to support the expansion of childcare in the Greater Binghamton area.
We’ve also seen Gov. Kathy Hochul support our community with $50 million for New Energy New York (NENY), more than $20 million in downtown-revitalization programs, and successful awards for affordable housing through the office of Homes and Community Renewal. The NENY program will position Greater Binghamton area as the center of energy-storage research and technology in New York state and open new opportunities for manufacturers in the Southern Tier to be part of the energy-storage supply chain.
We also see flourishing art walks, festivals, and more fans cheering on our Binghamton sports teams. We begin to see our community from the perspective of gains and not losses. And that is the moment our work really begins.
We cannot continue our momentum to create a vibrant economy without a collaborative eye on the future. That is why the Leadership Alliance, in partnership with our industry, government, and nonprofit partners are preparing a bold plan to define our economy for the next decade and beyond. The pieces of this plan include the following initiatives.
New Development Sites
The right preparation can be a game changer in economic development. Micron, Global Foundries, Plug Power, and Wolfspeed were not overnight successes. They were the result of years of deliberate, patient, and collaborative work to prepare the right sites. They are incredible and well-deserved wins and should serve as an example of the kind of success we can see here in Broome with the right preparation.
Our community is blessed with incredible peaks and valleys, which provide a beautiful landscape to our daily lives. This geography, however, also makes it incredibly challenging for economic development. Unlike areas with vast amounts of flat land, we just don’t have significant tracks of “shovel ready” sites in Broome County. We must get a little more creative and innovative in how we create development opportunities. But that’s okay — it’s fitting for the scrappy and resilient community that we are.
Did you know that the last time we built a multi-acre development park was when the Broome County IDA built the Broome Corporate Park in 1984? That’s right — 1984. Doesn’t it feel like time to build something grand and new again? We make things that change the world here, so let’s build sites to do more of that.
During the pandemic, we commissioned a comprehensive analysis of land and buildings, as well as greenfield and brownfield sites across the county. This inventory has helped us identify where we can build new economic-development sites to attract high-tech manufacturing, logistics, life sciences, and other growing industry sectors.
As a result, we are researching the potential development of acreage in the towns of Maine and Union into a new and vibrant development park to support economic growth for the Greater Binghamton area. We take this role seriously. It’s not only an imperative for the IDA to build new sites — it is our responsibility. We anticipate that the development of this land could result in nearly $1 billion in annual economic activity through sales, compensation, tax revenue, and indirect business growth.
We cannot guarantee a vibrant economic future without constructing new development sites. We need the support of our federal, state, and local elected officials. We need the support of our business and community leaders who want to attract new residents and employees. Most importantly, we need the support of the individuals who live and work throughout the community. We invite you to be part of what’s next and to support efforts to build new sites.
Vibrant Neighborhoods
For residents and businesses in our communities, the phrase “Vibrant Neighborhoods” means many things. It includes not only the development of a diverse portfolio of housing options, but also the creation of safe and engaged neighborhoods. The Leadership Alliance has identified housing as a priority initiative of our blueprint plan. We’ve financed state-of-the-art professional housing, including 50 Front St. Luxury Apartments, Ansco Lofts, and most recently, the magnificent Victory Lofts project. This former factory building stands as a beacon of reclaiming the spirit of innovation and optimism that supported our community for generations. The project will provide the community with 156 market-rate apartments with luxury amenities in addition to 7,500 square feet of commercial space. What once housed thousands of employees during the days of the Endicott-Johnson Shoe Company, will now provide more than 100 local construction jobs, totaling a $5 million payroll, and will serve to bolster workforce-development efforts by providing much needed housing in Johnson City’s Health Sciences & Cultural Arts District.
We’ve also supported the continued development of affordable housing with the Century Sunrise project with Regan Development and have nearly 1,000 units of affordable housing planned over the next three years. We are thrilled to welcome outstanding developers including Kearney Realty and Conifer / LeChase to the community to construct new and modern affordable housing.
Placemaking
Neighborhoods cannot be vibrant, however, without a strong sense of place. Placemaking is the collaborative process of activating public spaces to create value and increase a sense of belonging in communities. Placemaking is foundational to our community, the home of the “Square Deal Towns,” as identified by the employees of Endicott Johnson who put up arches to commemorate the sense of belonging, they felt in their communities. That is why we launched the Office of Placemaking Initiatives in 2022. The office was created to promote the unique assets of our community and to build a pride in place by empowering community members to take ownership and make use of underutilized public spaces.
Individuals not only seek vibrant places; they demand them. Vibrancy is now on the top of the list for both job seekers and corporate site selectors, alike. The Office of Placemaking will work collaboratively with the community to create active and inclusive spaces. In just a short time, the office has already hosted “pop ups” including the inaugural Binghamton Better Cities Film Festival and will bring a singer-songwriter series to the riverfront this summer.
Talent & Leadership Development
The final priority of our blueprint plan will focus on talent and leadership development. Workforce development in a post-pandemic world has evolved beyond traditional training programs and have required communities to be innovative and creative about retention. Creating a leadership value chain is necessary to support business growth. This value chain begins as early as bringing students into the workplace, creating internship opportunities for area college students, and having a robust leadership pipeline within organizations.
The Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce has developed several new programs to support the leadership value chain. These include K-12; young professional; diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programming; and second-chance programming, such as the Collaborative Recovery Empowerment of the Southern Tier — a program designed to connect individuals in active recovery to gainful employment. A recent study by LinkedIn indicates 76 percent of employees and job seekers said diversity was important when considering offers, and 80 percent want to work for a company that values DEI issues. Collectively, our DEI programming has helped 400 area professionals to better understand DEI and begin implementing best practices in their workplaces, supporting our most vulnerable jobseekers and employees. We will continue to explore and expand leadership programming for a sustainable economic future.
We’re excited about the future. There’s a new energy and a renewed optimism in our area. We’re ready to write the next chapter in our economic story. We invite you to join us. Together, we’re building a Greater Binghamton.
Stacey Duncan is the CEO of the Leadership Alliance.
Tower project revitalizes UHS Wilson campus in Johnson City
JOHNSON CITY — United Health Services (UHS) is in the midst of its largest construction project ever, one that will upgrade and modernize its UHS Wilson Medical Center facilities in Johnson City. The $175 million initiative to revitalize the campus has been years in the making, UHS President/CEO John M. Carrigg says. UHS is just
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JOHNSON CITY — United Health Services (UHS) is in the midst of its largest construction project ever, one that will upgrade and modernize its UHS Wilson Medical Center facilities in Johnson City.
The $175 million initiative to revitalize the campus has been years in the making, UHS President/CEO John M. Carrigg says. UHS is just over a year into the project, having broken ground in April 2022.
Dubbed the Wilson Project, it includes construction of a six-story, state-of-the-art clinical tower that will add 183,375 feet to the 280-bed facility. The tower includes four inpatient/medical suites, each with 30 private rooms, what will help the medical center transition from semi-private to private rooms, says Michelle Karedes, senior director of strategic facility planning at UHS.
While planning for the project began before the COVID-19 pandemic, the health crisis brought home the need for patient privacy not only on a personal level, but also on a clinical level, Carrigg notes. The number of beds will not increase, but the addition of the 120 new rooms allows the existing rooms to be converted to private rooms. Once complete, all patient rooms — with the exception of a few rooms in the trauma center — will be private rooms with private bathrooms.
“It’ll just be a tremendous boost in patient experience,” Carrigg says.
The tower will also include a new emergency department, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) suite, and a surgical support area, helping bring services closer together under one roof. Currently, MRI services are located across the street, requiring transporting patients there.
“Having a modernized hospital right there in Johnson City is very important for us,” Carrigg says, adding it will bolster relationships with surrounding partners including Binghamton University’s School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Services.
“We pride ourselves on being an educating hospital,” Karedes says. The hope is that students, like the pharmacy students that job shadow at UHS, might want to stay on and work for UHS after graduation. The new, modern facility should help with both recruitment and retention, she adds.
A new rooftop helipad will serve the new trauma center. UHS Wilson is a level-two trauma center — the only one in the region. It can handle just about any trauma but does not include a burn unit or a pediatric unit.
UHS Wilson currently has a helipad, but it can take anywhere from seven to nine minutes to get patients from the helicopter to the trauma center, Carrigg says. The new helipad will have a dedicated elevator leading right to the trauma center, getting patients into the trauma center much faster. “This is where minutes matter,” he says.
Several phases of the project are already complete including upgrades to the generators, waste farm, and oxygen-bulk farm. Two new trauma rooms and a post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) opened. UHS will use the former PACU site as a corridor linking the existing facility to the new tower.
Radiography/fluoroscopy room upgrades and imaging support space work should be complete by August. Next spring, 28 rooms of the new emergency department will open along with the third-floor medical/surgical unit with 30 rooms. UHS expects to complete the new MRI suit next spring as well. The 4th through 6th floor medical/surgical units, with 90 rooms, will open in the fall of 2024 with the remaining 19 rooms of the emergency department to follow in the summer of 2025.
LeChase Construction Services, LLC is the UHS Wilson project’s construction-management company. Chianis & Anderson Architects, PLLC, is the project architect. Both companies have offices in Binghamton.
UHS obtained tax-exempt bond financing for the project in the summer of 2020. The state allows for up to 90 percent of a project to be financed, leaving UHS to fund the rest of the cost through hospital operations or fundraising. In that vein, the UHS Foundation launched a $10 million capital campaign about six months ago, Carrigg says. To date, the campaign — which runs through the end of 2023 — has raised about $7 million, he notes.
Founded in greater Binghamton in 1981, UHS was formed through the consolidation of three community hospitals. The organization now includes UHS Wilson Medical Center, UHS Binghamton General Hospital, UHS Chenango Memorial Hospital, UHS Delaware Valley Hospital, UHS Senior Living at Chenango Memorial Hospital, UHS Home Care, UHS Senior Living at Ideal, and physician offices at locations throughout Broome and surrounding counties.
Woman-owned Idea Kraft boosts clients’ digital presence
BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — As Ewelina Zajac-Holdrege describes it, the process to create a website is “very structured and creative.” Her company, Idea Kraft, uses modern tools for project management and file sharing. The web-design process has three phases, including user research and discovery; design and development phase; and production, launch, and support. “So we really
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BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — As Ewelina Zajac-Holdrege describes it, the process to create a website is “very structured and creative.”
Her company, Idea Kraft, uses modern tools for project management and file sharing.
The web-design process has three phases, including user research and discovery; design and development phase; and production, launch, and support.
“So we really put … a lot of emphasis and efforts into strategy and effective information architecture before we even apply any design to the site,” she says.
It then evolves to mock-ups, layout designs, revisions, and then building a framework. Zajac-Holdrege, Idea Kraft’s founder and creative director, spoke to CNYBJ on April 20.
Even through the pandemic, the firm was busy building large websites, ecommerce stores, and marketing campaigns because, as she tells CNYBJ, “having a modern successful digital presence has never been more important for [a] brand.”
Idea Kraft marked its 10-year anniversary with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Lackawanna Train Station on Jan. 25. Clients, friends, and community leaders joined the agency to acknowledge the milestone.
Origin and growth
Zajac-Holdrege was working as a graphic designer and started a freelance-design business in 2011, an effort that evolved into what is now Idea Kraft. She started the business in her basement before moving to the Lackawanna Train Station at 45 Lewis St. in Binghamton.
She had previously worked for Modern Marketing Concepts in Binghamton.
Zajac-Holdrege graduated from an art school in her native Poland and didn’t have any business-administration experience, so she sought help from “every possible resource” that she could find. Those resources included the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in Binghamton.
“It helped me with my first business plan and to get my first bank loan to furnish the office,” Zajac-Holdrege notes.
She also worked with the entrepreneurship-assistance center at SUNY Broome Community College to pursue the MWBE (minority and woman-owned business enterprise) certification, which she secured in 2015 to help pursue state contacts.
Zajac-Holdrege also participated in the annual SBA Emerging Leaders program during 2019. It’s a six-month course aiming to help small businesses develop and execute strategic growth plans.
Securing the MWBE certification was a “long process,” but it was easier as a new small business because she had to revisit a lot of documents and information that she needed while launching Idea Kraft.
The certification helps a business compete for state projects with New York’s goal that at least 30 percent of state projects should be awarded to minority or woman-owned businesses. Idea Kraft works with a lot of nonprofits on grant-specific projects, including ones in New York City and the higher-education sector.
“This certification does not suddenly open a door for you. You still have to [complete] proposals,” says Zajac-Holdrege. “You have to do outreach. You have to do the same business development as you do with your private sector [clients] but it does give you some advantage … in order to compete for those projects.”
Some examples of Idea Kraft’s MWBE-generated clients include Rural Health Network in Binghamton for a marketing campaign and web-development projects and Jewish Community Center of Coney Island in Brooklyn, which became aware of Idea Kraft through a New York MWBE director, according to Zajac-Holdrege.
“We want to be hired by those agencies because [of] our work and our expertise. I want the certification to be additional added value,” she says.
Idea Kraft currently has 10 full-time workers but also works with freelance contractors and partners with other companies that complement its services “so we can provide a full service to our clients,” Zajac-Holdrege says. They include photographers, video companies, and media buyers.
Handling the pandemic
When asked about dealing with the COVID pandemic, Zajac-Holdrege says it “definitely brought some challenges” but notes that many of Idea Kraft’s large accounts were “strong” and projects were active.
In transitioning to remote work, Idea Kraft actually went to work remotely a week before it was mandated in New York State. The transition was fairly seamless since the firm already used many cloud applications.
“Ironically, we got closer with some distant clients since we adopted Zoom meetings versus just calls and email,” says Zajac-Holdrege.
She also acknowledged that cultivating the same office culture is a challenge when working remotely. With pandemic emergencies and protocols winding down, the company adopted a hybrid style and employees had an option of working fully remotely, in the office, or through the hybrid method.
“We have employees now in Syracuse and Buffalo, but we try to get together regularly for in-person events,” she says.
Three employees work in the Binghamton office and seven continue working remotely in Binghamton, Syracuse, and Buffalo.
As for what’s ahead for Idea Kraft, Zajac-Holdrege says the firm has room to grow and learn, adding that the business will continue evolving its branding and digital capabilities.
With 100 years of history, Raymond Corp. focuses on growth
GREENE, N.Y. — After celebrating its centennial year in 2022, The Raymond Corporation is focused on growth in 2023, and beyond. “We’re fortunate in our business that we’ve continued to grow,” says EVP Steve VanNostrand. In the past year, Raymond has added about 360 new employees companywide, with about 300 of those at the company’s Greene
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GREENE, N.Y. — After celebrating its centennial year in 2022, The Raymond Corporation is focused on growth in 2023, and beyond.
“We’re fortunate in our business that we’ve continued to grow,” says EVP Steve VanNostrand. In the past year, Raymond has added about 360 new employees companywide, with about 300 of those at the company’s Greene and Syracuse–area locations.
The new employees are necessary as the company works to ramp up its production to “significantly higher” levels, VanNostrand says, to meet the growing demands of e-commerce.
A lot of the shopping that shifted online during the pandemic has stayed online and expanded even more, he says. That surge is a driving factor behind Raymond’s growth. The trends were already in place, VanNostrand says, but the pandemic really accelerated things.
“The pie has gotten bigger, but our piece of the pie has gotten bigger as well,” he explains. “We’re seeing a volume of orders for our products that we’ve never seen before.”
In order to produce the volume of product necessary, Raymond is making changes at its 500,000-square-foot Greene facility.
“We are working with some minor extensions in the building to fundamentally have a significant production increase that’s ramping month by month,” VanNostrand says. The company has to be creative since the facility is landlocked without room to expand, so things like new equipment help it optimize space. Raymond also recently launched a second shift.
“This place is busy 24 hours a day,” VanNostrand says.
Along with increasing production and employment, Raymond is also focusing on product innovations. “Our industry is shifting,” he says. There is a growing interest in lithium-ion batteries. “We think there’s a great opportunity for us to leverage our knowledge … and integrate that.”
Automation remains a strong focus, especially as Raymond’s customers struggle to fill open warehouse jobs. “Everyone is looking for automation solutions, VanNostrand says. Automated fork trucks can help Raymond’s customers make up for workforce shortages.
It can be a struggle even for Raymond to find employees, but VanNostrand praises the company’s talent-acquisition team. It’s important for the company to remain in Greene, he notes, “It’s really critical to our culture.” It’s a small town with a family feel, but still provides global opportunity for the company, he contends.
Raymond employs more than 2,000 people at its Greene headquarters and its locations in the Syracuse area and Iowa and is currently hiring. Raymond also employs more than 7,000 people at its solution and support centers around the world.
Its expansion efforts in Greene through employees and equipment equal a substantive investment totaling in the millions, VanNostrand says.
“We’re here, we’re growing, and we’ve got a very bright future ahead of us,” he concludes.
Greater Binghamton Airport has new flights, state funding for improvements
MAINE, N.Y. — The Greater Binghamton Airport (BGM) is using $32 million in state funding for two airport-infrastructure projects. The airport, located in the town of Maine in Broome County, is also offering flights to New York City’s LaGuardia Airport and flights to Florida through Avelo Airlines. The airport’s website greets visitors with this message:
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MAINE, N.Y. — The Greater Binghamton Airport (BGM) is using $32 million in state funding for two airport-infrastructure projects.
The airport, located in the town of Maine in Broome County, is also offering flights to New York City’s LaGuardia Airport and flights to Florida through Avelo Airlines. The airport’s website greets visitors with this message: “With larger planes and the addition of new service, flying from your hometown airport just got even better!”
The projects
The first airport-improvement project will involve the relocation of the general aviation terminal to integrate it with the passenger terminal, “unifying both functions” in one renovated facility, according to the New York State governor’s office.
The project will also include the creation of a new airport canopy designed to accommodate the future installation of rainwater collection and solar panels. The effort will also implement improvements to the ticketing lobby and outbound baggage room, the departures lobby and lounge, the baggage claim, and other multi-purpose facilities.
The second project will construct a new, 3,000-square-foot general aviation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility south of the terminal, which will help the airport maintain its Customs designation as a user fee airport. That allows it to have some international flights land there.
The $32 million for the Greater Binghamton Airport is part of $230 million in funding that Gov. Kathy Hochul announced last September for nine upstate New York airports for revitalization projects that seek to “reimagine and further modernize” the airports. This funding comes from the Upstate Airport Economic Development and Revitalization Competition, a competitive solicitation that aims to foster investments in upstate New York commercial passenger service airports, “helping to create airports for the 21st century.” Hochul made the funding announcement at the Greater Binghamton Airport.
Delta, Avelo flights
Not long after Avelo Airlines started offering daily non-stop flights from Binghamton to Fort Myers and Orlando, Florida, Delta Airlines started providing twice-daily flights to New York City’s LaGuardia (LDA) in early January.
Delta, which had flown nonstop flights from Binghamton to Detroit, is using CRJ-900 aircraft on the flights to New York City, seating 76 passengers in at least two classes. The Detroit routes were discontinued to allow for the new air service to New York City.
Avelo is the only airline at BGM offering nonstop service to Orlando. The new route operates on Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Binghamton Chamber’s Placemaking Office aims to improve region’s vibrancy
BINGHAMTON — The Office of Placemaking in the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce has been in operation for a few months and continues working to get itself established. Placemaking involves a hands-on approach to improve areas within a community utilizing physical, cultural, social, and other assets to create opportunities to bring people together, the chamber
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BINGHAMTON — The Office of Placemaking in the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce has been in operation for a few months and continues working to get itself established.
Placemaking involves a hands-on approach to improve areas within a community utilizing physical, cultural, social, and other assets to create opportunities to bring people together, the chamber says. The goal is for the office and its director to “support existing initiatives and create new activities to make a more attractive and cohesive community.”
Placemaking is an effort to “improve the vibrancy of an area,” says Jim Reyen, director of placemaking initiatives at the Greater Binghamton Chamber. It focuses on public spaces like parks, streets, use of historic spaces or green spaces, and getting the community involved.
“You get community input and have them be engaged. You work with the community and have them as part of the process,” he says. “It’s not directly event planning because you’re bringing the community into the process and utilizing public spaces and making it more vibrant.” Reyen spoke with CNYBJ on May 10. The operations of his offices started in January after the chamber first announced it last October.
The Office of Placemaking has been involved in a holiday-tree lighting in downtown Binghamton back in November with music and refreshments. The office also participated in the Binghamton Better Cities Film Festival, which included films about cities similar in size to the Binghamton area and what they’ve done with placemaking concepts.
It was also involved in the Greater Binghamton Bridge Run on May 7, and is planning some upcoming live-music events.
“We’re in the process of establishing the office, getting input, doing some test pop-ups and letting the community know that we want to work with them to make this a better place,” Reyen says.
“We wanted to create the Placemaking office to serve as a catalyst for improving public spaces to create opportunities to gather, connect and beautify the Greater Binghamton area,” Stacey Duncan, CEO of the Leadership Alliance, a partnership between the Greater Binghamton Chamber and The Agency, said when the office was announced last October. “We’re looking forward to engaging and inviting the community to become part of the process.”
The Leadership Alliance hosted an inaugural creative placemaking workshop with Kady Yellow on Oct. 25. Yellow is a Binghamton native and currently the senior director of placemaking and events for Downtown Vision, Inc., the business-improvement district in Jacksonville, Florida. She has served in similar roles in Flint, Michigan and Anchorage, Alaska. Yellow has taught the principles of creative placemaking across the country.
Oakdale Commons project makes former mall an entertainment and shopping destination
JOHNSON CITY — The complete transformation of the former Oakdale Mall is well under way. What was once a local retail and activity centerpiece before it began to decline is being converted into a mixed-use entertainment, retail, and lifestyle hub, now called Oakdale Commons. Spark JC, LLC acquired the mall in January 2022, says co-founder
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JOHNSON CITY — The complete transformation of the former Oakdale Mall is well under way.
What was once a local retail and activity centerpiece before it began to decline is being converted into a mixed-use entertainment, retail, and lifestyle hub, now called Oakdale Commons.
Spark JC, LLC acquired the mall in January 2022, says co-founder Douglas Matthews. For him, the project follows on the heels of the redevelopment of a separate parcel at the north end of the mall property he purchased through Spark Broome in 2019. That parcel, once home to a Sears store, now houses Factory by Beer Tree, some Broome County offices, and a Lourdes Hospital wellness center and fitness facility.
“That was really sort of the catalyst of us looking with the Newman family” to buy the mall property, Matthews says. Now Spark JC is well into the redevelopment of the property. Matthews and his partner Marc Newman actively sought out tenants for the 70-acre property to add to the existing mall tenants.
Dick’s House of Sport will open a 140,000-square-foot facility in the former Macy’s anchor location. It will include an outdoor field, climbing wall, golf simulator, and more. Other new arrivals include Panera Bread and Chipotle restaurants along with a bank, Matthews says.
“We’re well on our way with BJ’s [Wholesale Club] putting in 100,000 square feet with a gas station,” he adds.
Historically, the mall was all retail, but Spark JC’s goal is to replicate the success of the former Sears site with mixed-use tenants to create jobs and deliver innovative wellness services and leisure activities, along with retail, to the community.
“Who knows, we may even add a living component at some point,” Matthews says.
Located at the crossroads of New York State Route 17 and Interstate 81 at 601-635 Harry L Drive, Oakdale Commons has a ready audience with Binghamton University only about a mile away.
Matthews’ goal is to make the Commons a destination, not just a place locals go to shop. “It’s really going to be a regional draw, not just local,” he notes. Oakdale Commons is located across the street from a busy Wegman’s grocery store that draws people from as far as 50 miles away, he says, so it’s not inconceivable that people will make the area a frequent day destination.
Including the Sears parcel redevelopment, the entire project will cost somewhere between $130 million and $150 million. Spark JC is working with Tompkins Community Bank for construction financing and also has a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) agreement with the Broome County Industrial Development Agency. The project will also benefit from American Rescue Plan Act funding from Broome County and the Town of Union for infrastructure.
Matthews hopes the project will wrap up by 2025. While it’s hard to predict how many jobs tenants will create, he did note there are close to 500 people employed at the businesses on the former Sears site, now called the Lourdes Pavilion, which is visited daily by anywhere from 5,000 to 7,000 people.
“What really makes it so enjoyable is seeing how excited the community is,” Matthews says.
Soft Landing N.Y. spring cohort completes work at NYC bootcamp
BINGHAMTON — Companies involved in the spring cohort of the Soft Landing New York program finished the session with a three-day, in-person market exploration bootcamp in New York City from April 19-21. The bootcamp coincided with the annual Center for International Business Advancement Global Forum on April 20. The theme of this year’s event was
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BINGHAMTON — Companies involved in the spring cohort of the Soft Landing New York program finished the session with a three-day, in-person market exploration bootcamp in New York City from April 19-21.
The bootcamp coincided with the annual Center for International Business Advancement Global Forum on April 20. The theme of this year’s event was “Soft Landings and Smart Takeoffs: Driving Innovation and Economic Growth Across Borders.”
Startups from both the fall 2022 and spring 2023 programs were invited to participate in panel discussions, where they could share their experiences with market exploration and customer discovery in the U.S.
“Come prepared with hard questions, different scenarios, and the most open mind you can,” Eric Krohn, director of the business incubation program at the Koffman Incubator, advised at the outset of the spring session. “Give it your all. You will get out of it what you put into it. And as I’ve seen from the last cohort, amazing things happen.”
Soft Landing New York is based at the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator and funded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration. The Koffman Southern Tier Incubator is located at 120 Hawley St. in Binghamton.
A partnership between Binghamton University and Cornell University, the Soft Landing New York program helps foreign companies evaluate and navigate their way into the U.S. market through programming, mentorship, and student assistance.
In the preceding weeks, program participants embarked on a series of workshops about the U.S. business environment. They also participated in practical bootcamps on both customer discovery for the U.S. market and market entry and go-to-market strategy in the U.S. Participants were also paired with mentors from the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator and student research teams from the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business.
Soft Landing New York’s spring 2023 cohort included companies from sectors that included clean energy, food and agriculture, health care, export logistics, fashion, and education.
During an initial Zoom session at the start of the spring session, each participant was invited to give a brief presentation on their company’s product or service, audience, and goals for expansion into the U.S. market.
About the incubator
Opened in 2017, the 35,000-square-foot Koffman Southern Tier Incubator includes offices, high-tech labs, wet labs, dry labs and common areas, as well as co-working spaces that encourage collaboration between companies, per its website.
PARTICIPATING COMPANIES
The companies taking part in the spring cohort included:
– Ireland’s Hub Controls has developed an energy-saving smart thermostat that helps users sell carbon credits in the voluntary carbon market.
– Brazil’s GH Solar allows everyday consumers to independently generate their own renewable energy.
– Italy’s Buzzup is developing sensors and data analytics that track pollination for beekeepers, farmers, researchers, and food producers.
– Egypt’s Carraina has developed a frozen breakfast that satisfies all of the nutritional needs established by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
– Nigeria’s DayDone has developed e-commerce software to help farmers organize, modernize, and optimize their businesses.
– India’s EF Polymer uses food waste to develop a super- absorbent biodegradable polymer that helps farmers save water, reduce fertilizer use, and increase yields.
– Canada’s Hybridyne Health uses AI to create a more accurate and consistent way to diagnose prostate cancer.
– Bulgaria’s Responsa Prevent offers consulting services to make schools and other workplaces safer.
– Guatemala’s Tu Consejeria connects people to app-based mental health services in English and Spanish.
– Canada’s Pash Group is working on a cross-border e-commerce platform that allows people around the world to buy used cars from developed countries.
– Togo’s Togo Cargo has developed an app that helps businesses track shipments, manage inventory, schedule deliveries, and access real-time updates on shipments.
– Uganda’s naRoho trains women to make sustainable handbags, footwear, and other leather items in exchange for fair wages.
– Nigeria’s Univacity is an easy-to-use admissions platform that helps students and recruiters apply to institutes worldwide, making education more accessible across the globe.
Stadium Lofts housing project part of Mirabito Stadium District Master Plan
BINGHAMTON — The Stadium Lofts housing project near Mirabito Stadium in Binghamton is in the process of seeking low-income housing tax credits from the state. “It’s received all local planning and zoning approvals. It’s just waiting on some state approvals and then it can start construction assuming that funding comes through,” says Binghamton Mayor Jared
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BINGHAMTON — The Stadium Lofts housing project near Mirabito Stadium in Binghamton is in the process of seeking low-income housing tax credits from the state.
“It’s received all local planning and zoning approvals. It’s just waiting on some state approvals and then it can start construction assuming that funding comes through,” says Binghamton Mayor Jared M. Kraham.
It’s a competitive process for low-income housing tax credits, so the developer hopes to learn more about moving forward as the year progresses. Kraham spoke with CNYBJ in a phone interview on May 12.
Kraham last August joined Ken Kearney, president of the Kearney Group development firm, to announce plans for a $24 million, 70-unit mixed-use housing project at 180 Henry St., near the stadium, per a news release on the City of Binghamton’s website.
Mirabito Stadium is home to the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball’s (MLB) New York Mets.
The Stadium Lofts project will provide new workforce housing units, with up to half of the units marketed toward people who work in the arts. The developer is applying for affordable-housing tax credits through New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR). The state agency has an “artist preference policy” that supports affordable housing for artists as a component of communities’ revitalization efforts and seeks to promote diversity in affordable housing, per the city’s release.
In addition to the residential space, the Stadium Lofts project includes four units of ground-floor commercial space.
“We’re thrilled to see such an exciting and vibrant project taking shape right across the street from Mirabito Stadium,” David Sobotka, owner and president of the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, said in the city’s release. “Alongside the City, we welcome Ken’s firm as the newest partner in our collective effort to revitalize Henry Street, draw more people to the Stadium District and continue to improve the area.”
The Stadium Lofts project is part of the Mirabito Stadium District Master Plan (SDMP). The SDMP will guide development and public investments near the city-owned stadium at 211 Henry St. downtown with a goal of spurring transformative projects in housing, infrastructure and economic development in the district.
About the plan
Kraham explains that cities across the country, both large and small, use sports stadiums to “jump start” other economic-development activity.
“The neighborhood that surrounds a ballpark comes to define the team as much as the ballpark itself, whether it’s Wrigleyville [in Chicago] or Camden Yards [in Baltimore],” says Kraham.
Binghamton officials were seeing a lack of housing in the city, a need for further revitalization, and the necessity to reduce some blight in the area around Mirabito Stadium. They also saw a residential-commercial area near the downtown core that’s accessible from highways and figured “there’s really no reason why this isn’t the next great commercial area in the Southern Tier of New York,” according to Kraham.
The SDMP addresses housing, including existing dwellings and new construction, infrastructure improvements in the corridor, streetscape and public-space improvements, intersection redesigns, sidewalks, and pedestrian-friendly amenities.
“You can’t have a vibrant commercial corridor without safe, walkable streets. That stadium district, those neighborhoods deserve the best of the infrastructure we can offer,” the Binghamton mayor contends.
Besides the Stadium Lofts, other projects still to come around the stadium include the Henry Street connective-corridor design project, which is currently underway. In addition, Station 45, a steakhouse in the Lackawanna Train Station, will open this summer. Binghamton’s new fire station opened a few months ago on Court Street, which is part of the stadium district, Kraham notes.
He went on to say that the City of Binghamton owns the baseball stadium and has spent millions of dollars to make it compliant with MLB regulations. The next review to determine whether or not Binghamton keeps the Rumble Ponies is in 2030.
“What we want to have by that point is not just the stadium that the players deserve and Major League Baseball approves of, but [also] the vibrant commercial area that surrounds it that gets more people to want to come to the ballpark, that makes it more walkable, more accessible, and just more amenities that are down there,” says Kraham.
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