Category Archives: Economic Development

By Greg Hitchcock
Saratoga County has taken its place as an economic powerhouse trending to continue growing into 2019, with nearby Warren and Washington counties benefiting from this growth.
According to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Department of Commerce, 17 counties in New York state had employment gains from June 2017 to June 2018 with Saratoga County having the largest gain up 2.7 percent.
“All three counties have grown their private sector over the last five years with GlobalFoundries kicking off this growth,” said Andrew Kennedy, president and chief executive officer of the Center for Economic Growth, an economic and business development agency serving as a primary point of contact for businesses interested in growing in or moving to the Capital Region.

By Christine Graf
The Saratoga County Industrial Development Agency, a public benefit corporation created to encourage the construction and expansion of industrial and commercial facilities, is a key cog in the economic development efforts in Saratoga County.
Since beginning operations in 1980, the IDA has approved financing arrangements for 119 projects.
“Those are the ones that have been approved and assisted financially. There have been a number that have not even been considered,” said IDA Administrator Michael Valentine. “There is an application process, a review process and certain standards that somebody coming in needing assistance has to go through.”

New York state is putting $23.6 million in infrastructure funding to support safety enhancements, modernization of facilities, operational improvements and local business development at 31 airports statewide.
These projects are funded through the state Aviation Capital Grant Program initiative and complement the Upstate Airport Economic Development and Revitalization Competition, which provided $200 million to modernize airports across Upstate.
“New York’s airports represent the front door to our local communities and are critical to facilitating tourism and business development,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. “A world-class airport is crucial to regional economic growth, and by investing in the modernization of our local airports we are creating vibrant communities where people want to live, work and play.”

Following through on a key element of its 2016  Advance Saratoga priorities, Saratoga Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) has formed an Advance Saratoga Startup Advisory Team to mentor early-stage businesses.

Officials said it supports SEDC’s mission to promote, retain and grow talent, investment and job opportunities.

Local entrepreneur networks like Sharatoga Tech Talks and similar regional tech executive meet ups revealed a desire among Saratoga area entrepreneurs for access to professional expertise to help overcome challenges to business growth, said Dennis Brobston, president of SEDC.

Clarkson University’s Shipley Center for Innovation operates six business incubators and has agreed to provide support services to new entrepreneurs and early-stage project teams and companies for the Advance Saratoga startup platform.

“Talent begets talent,” said Brobston. “Inspiring, mentoring and accelerating growth companies to do business here will be enhanced by facilitating access to the world-class talent and reach of our member investors and other area experts.”

By Jill Nagy

Glens Falls planners and city officials have had the job for the last few months of deciding how to spend $10 million. The money comes in the form of a grant from the state’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative.

They came up with more than a dozen programs and initiatives ranging from a year-round farmers’ market to a “race for space”  contest.

Plans were presented to the public at a Feb. 23 meeting. The final wish list will be reviewed by a statewide committee and then passed along to the governor, according to Ed Bartholomew, president of EDC Warren County.

Each proposed project will be reviewed. Bartholomew said the proposals total more than $10 million. If all 14  of them are approved, the city will seek other funding to make up the difference.

A decision is expected from the state in late summer.

By R.J. DeLuke

A huge component of economic development is helping existing businesses, looking to expand, find a local solution that meets their needs, and also connecting the right dots so that businesses looking to come into Saratoga County can do so with relative ease.

A key part of both of those situations is having a workforce that meets the needs of the employer, said Marty Vanags, president of the Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership.

The Prosperity Partnership, along with the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce and Chamber of Southern Saratoga County, announced less than a year ago a business retention and expansion initiative dubbed Business First Saratoga.

It is intended to serve local business owners by developing relationships to better understand the opportunities and challenges of doing businesses in the region. An area that the program tries to assist businesses with is  workforce development.

“Employers are having a difficult time finding employees to work at their facilities,” he said. “I hear it all the time.”

Some of the need to find employees comes as the work demographic changes, he said. Baby Boomers are getting to the point of retirement those jobs need to be filed.

Skills that are required today are different as technology put a stronger stamp on how things are accomplished.