Lockport NY

The Buffalo News reported that Yahoo has been awarded another megawatt of power and is looking for four more to expand their operations here in Lockport:

Yahoo intends to expand its data center in Lockport with an eye on making Western New York a hub for its East Coast operations.

The New York Power Authority today is expected to approve an allocation of one megawatt of low-cost hydropower for the Yahoo data center to help facilitate the expansion, which would shift work from India and from elsewhere in the United States.

That would add an estimated 20 jobs to the Lockport data center, which opened in August and is projected to create 125 positions when the facility fully ramps up its operation.

Yahoo already has a commitment of 15 megawatts of low-cost hydropower and is using about two-thirds of that. In addition to the extra megawatt up for a vote today, Yahoo is negotiating with the Power Authority for four more megawatts....

Anyone have a good link for a list of top incentives per job in the US? I tried a quick search and found nothing of note. Though a big debate, it is nice to see something going on here. I just wish we would get the high speed lines into the city and start marketing them, especially at a building like Harrison Place. I know of at least on company that left the town several years back because of the lack of data speed (went to Amherst.)

The Buffalo News reports a new policy by the Niagara County IDA for its three cities.

New small businesses in parts of Niagara County’s three cities will have a chance at tax breaks normally reserved for the big boys, under terms of a new policy at the Industrial Development Agency.  At the County Legislature’s request, the IDA worked out a plan for “opportunity zones,” which gives eligible businesses five years of exemption from all property taxes.

In Niagara Falls, the opportunity zones are along Main and Niagara streets and Pine and Highland avenues. Peter Kay, the city’s director of economic development and planning, said under the IDA’s criteria, the zones could have been “practically the whole city, because it was [distressed] census tracts and census tracts adjacent to them. Even DeVeaux Woods would have qualified.” So Niagara Falls decided to limit the zones, too.
“By throwing the whole city into the mix, it would actually harm the intent, because people who were on those [designated] streets could say, ‘I want to go down near the water and I’ll get all these tax breaks,’ ” Kay said.

In Lockport, Tucker isn’t limiting the available areas, but he’s hoping the opportunity zones will help him fill Harrison Place, the former auto parts plant at Walnut and Washburn streets that the city owns after foreclosing on the previous owner.
“I think it certainly can’t hurt,” said Tucker, who also is vice chairman of the IDA. “In these tough times I think it gives us an edge.”

 
It is nice to see a new policy targeting small business in areas of need. As wonderful as it would be to land a Hail Mary of a large new business, it is the small ones that really form the foundation of our economic health.

Some thoughts:

1) Will a portion of the investment be tied in permanent infrastructure improvement? Or in other words, even if the business does not make it, or decides to pick up and leave once the taxes kick in, will we be left with a new or updated building in the city?

2) What do we do to reward those who already took the chance? The article says "new businesses". Is there some other policy that would reward the expansion or large investment in an existing small business?

3) How will this be marketed? Is there a larger plan for what type of development we want to see and where? The article lays out how separate mayors are implimenting the policy. The fact that the entire areas of some are eligible (distressed or near distressed areas) should be eye opening to the need of short range tax sacrifices for long term growth. The growth still will not happen automatically. Focused plans are needed.

4) A system like this is needed for major house renovations etc. The low income housing programs are nice but a middle class is sorely needed for a healthy city and should also be proactively fostered. Move vacant city owned homes for $1 and offer similar tax breaks to reward those who have the means and are willing to take the risk at restoring a home. Strong contracts laying out the obligations a must. The structures are generating zero tax revenue as thay stand and surpressing those nearby.

I've sent an e-mail for more information. I'll post again if I find out anything else.

Buffalo News has a lengthy but interesting article
on how the Yahoo deal got done and eventually ended up here in Lockport.

Some quotes:

Now, BNE could propose six sites, and Yahoo! requested a seventh because it had read news stories about HSBC Bank USA’s now-abandoned data center project in Cambria. Besides that property, BNE offered up Buffalo Lakeside Commerce Park, Eastport Commerce Park at Walden Avenue and Pavement Road in Lancaster, Riverview Commerce Park in Tonawanda, Buffalo East Technology Park in Pembroke, Medina Business Park, and Lockport Industrial Park.

The Lockport site was actually the last on the tour, which is usually an insurmountable hurdle since a site team is exhausted. What helped was goodwill from another business located in the industrial park, Exel Logistics of Ohio, which welcomed the group into its conference room for refreshments.
“It was a terrible day. It was raining, and cold. It was mid afternoon, and they went into this conference room, and there were snacks and coffee and soft drinks,” Kenyon recalled. “That extension of hospitality, at that point in their visit to Western New York, made a real strong impression on them.”

Yahoo! wanted a lot of power, but for fewer than 125 jobs, Kessel said. It wouldn’t work using the formula of jobs-for-megawatts, but “those ratios just don’t hold in this economy.”
So, he “put that to the side.” He credits the Power Authority staff for getting Yahoo! to increase its jobs projection, but admits that “I would have done anything to get this deal done.”

The questions that remain is what will the City do to make the most of this? Can a grant be found to wire up DT along with the Yahoo! Site? What can we do to get these "high tech" software workers to want to live in the city and become vested in it? When they start to branch off into their own businesses how do we make sure they want to (and are able to) set up in the city? The seeds need to be sown now.

-MJ