Inc. rates Syracuse #1 medium-sized city in the Northeast for doing business!

Expanding and relocating businesses, come on down! Syracuse is the place to do business!

In its March 2004 issue, Inc. magazine lists the top 25 cities to do business, and Syracuse is rated #14 overall in the medium-sized (150,000–450,000 jobs) city list—but is the highest rated city in the Northeast. The article states that the cities listed ”are among the unexpected places where businesses are adding jobs most rapidly and many people are moving in search of new lives, creating tremendous opportunities for entrepreneurs.”

Inc. used a “brand-new methodology that we believe to be the most objective, reliable system used anywhere for ranking fertile ground for companies” to list cities, like Syracuse, “that found a way to grow in a tough economy and now seem poised for rapid expansion as the recovery comes in.”

Our secret? Among other things, affordability—especially when it comes to housing prices, cost of living, and business costs—and a diverse economy. According to the article, “regions that consistently generate jobs in a broad range of industries rank at the top of the list.” It also noted that “Places kindest to business costs, whether in terms of office rents, taxes, or regulatory environments, seem to be doing best.”

Back to top

Entrepreneurship is heating up in this technology incubator


Syracuse Technology Garden is under construction


Syracuse Technology Garden floor plans

The ground has been broken, and the region’s newest victory garden is about to be planted—the Syracuse Technology Garden, that is.Bolstered by several million dollars in federal, state, county and corporate funding, the Syracuse Technology Garden—a technology incubator that will be overseen by the Syracuse Chamber of Commerce—is a 32,000 sq. ft. commitment to entrepreneurial development in Central New York. The goal is to help nurture and strengthen the area’s growing entrepreneurial culture by attracting start-up companies to develop, manufacture and market their products locally. “We know the value of entrepreneurial innovation,” said Onondaga County Executive Nicholas Pirro, who proposed a $1,000,000 grant for the project. To this end, the Chamber is working with Verizon to design a 50-seat videoconferencing center and boardroom that will put the Syracuse Technology Garden on the cutting edge of integrated services for voice, data, video, DSL and wireless applications.

The Syracuse Technology Garden has another strategic partnership to give it a boost. NASA has helped fund the project, giving the Syracuse Technology Garden an automatic partnership with the other NASA incubators throughout the U.S., tapping into their resources, information, education, contacts and capital.

In other words, the Syracuse Technology Garden is ready for takeoff.

Back to top

The State of Onondaga County: A Commitment to Compete


Nicholas Pirro, Onondaga County Executive

On March 1, Onondaga County Executive Nicholas Pirro had two main words for the county legislature in his State of the County address: economic development. “Jobs for Onondaga and Beyond,” his 10-point initiative for economic development in the County, formed the core of his annual address in which he stated that “our single-minded focus must be on economic development.”

Pirro summoned the community and the legislature to support Syracuse’s continued growth and competitiveness in the world marketplace. His plan calls for invigorating the area’s commitment to manufacturing; adding staff and funding to the County’s economic development efforts; building a 350-room Convention Center Hotel; and maximizing the county’s investment in the Syracuse Technology Garden (see related story). He also pointed out Onondaga County’s state leadership in job growth for 2003. Pirro cited a number of corporate success stories in the area, indicating a more-robust local economy.

The good news wasn’t all economic. Pirro mentioned the “Parks for Tomorrow” infrastructure program, which has helped generate an incredible transformation in Onondaga County’s park facilities; educational initiatives for schoolchildren and college students, including additional library and dormitory facilities, have been undertaken; the social services fabric has been strengthened and efficiencies have been introduced; and a number of public health improvements have taken root.

Perhaps most important of all, with real progress being made on a number of fronts, Pirro believes that Onondaga County’s best years are ahead of it.

Back to top

At Stickley, furniture’s high end is expanding


A Stickley Bedroom

If there’s one thing L. & J.G. Stickley’s latest expansion proves, it’s that the market for its superior-quality, high-end furniture can go higher. . . about 50 feet, in fact. That’s the height of the shelving they are building in their new high-bay warehouse. Stickley needs the new space—and the 30 or so new employees the company will be hiring—because demand for its exquisitely crafted furniture keeps growing.

The company will also be adding new machinery to upgrade its finishing operation; automating its rough mill operations (where raw materials are received and refined into a usable form); introducing a number of greater efficiencies to its administrative and purchasing departments; upgrading its office area; and building another electrical substation to power the place. With the expansion’s cost tagged at around $6 million, Stickley approached New York State and wondered if there was help available. It turns out there was. Because the company would be adding so many jobs to its current 1,000+ workforce, it was eligible for a large capital grant from Empire State Development—around $500,000.

Adding jobs has been a by-product of Stickley’s heritage since its founding over a century ago. “This area has been Stickley’s base since the turn of the 20th century,” says Paul Terwilliger, vice president of operations.

“We’ve found a good workforce dedicated to the Stickley product, and we very much enjoy the employees and the infrastructure here. We’d like to keep that.”

Back to top

Downtown turnaround: the surge continues

As investment dollars roll in, the revitalization of downtown Syracuse rolls on. In the most recent wave, over $175 million from developers and businesses around the country will rebuild and upgrade structures and spaces for working, watching, residing, and parking. The bottom line? Businesses looking to locate here will find superior accommodations for guests and executives, affordable-to-luxurious living for their employees, and a host of historically unique, exciting places to shop and be entertained.

A sampling of recent activity:

• Excellus expansion: Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, part of a $4 billion family of health care services companies, is adding about 200 jobs, 40,000 sq. ft. of office space, and a 1,000-car parking garage as part of this $35 million project that includes 24–60 new apartments and condos, and mixed-used retail and commercial space.
• The Amos Building: Developers will be building out this historic landmark, adding 78 luxury apartments, a restaurant, parking space and other amenities.
• Landmark Theatre: Nationally renowned for its architectural beauty, the Landmark—a stunning, richly designed national landmark built in 1928, home to movies, Broadway shows and the Syracuse Symphony—will undergo a major restoration and expansion that will allow Syracuse to host larger Broadway productions.
• Center of Excellence: The Center of Excellence in Environmental Systems and Renewable Energy Sources will be located on the former Mid-Town Plaza site, a remediated brownfield downtown. The research and development conducted by Syracuse, Cornell and Clarkson universities will attract new companies and new investment to Central New York. This $16 million project will break ground this summer and lead the way for the area as a world-renowned center for environmental engineering and renewableenergy.
• Little Italy: Syracuse’s north side treasure—a must-see (and -eat!) tourist mecca of outdoor cafés, bakeries, pizzerias, restaurants and more—has already seen a huge transformation, and will be expanded again with sidewalk, lighting, and streetscape work.
  

Back to top

Newsletter Archive

• Fall 2003 Newsletter