It’s a difficult climate for economic development. But instead of wringing their hands, officials at the County of Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency (CCIDA) have rolled up their sleeves and gotten down to the hard work of attracting business to the region.
In late 2007, the CCIDA saw genuine potential in a 170-acre site in Ripley. Perfectly positioned in close proximity to the Thruway, I-86 and Routes 5 and 20, the site offered ready access to the northeastern and mid-western regional markets. There were no businesses clamoring to locate there. No contracts waiting to be executed. But the CCIDA saw potential and began the long, arduous process of assembling parcels and beginning the environmental review and permitting that would pave the road for progress.
On Monday morning, the CCIDA finalized the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) process and will now turn its attention toward marketing the site at Route 20 and Shortman Road to potential end-users interested in constructing a large (up to 1 million square feet) distribution center or light manufacturing facility. In preparing the site, the CCIDA hopes to attract new businesses, generate employment opportunities and advance economic development in the Ripley area and county-wide.
Now that the groundwork has been laid and the environmental review process has been completed, the CCIDA will seek to have the site certified “shovel ready” by Empire State Development. That means the CCIDA has worked proactively with the State to address all major permitting issues prior to a business expressing interest in the location. It is, effectively, front-loading the permitting process to allow a prospective business the opportunity to begin developing the site without significant delays.
Shovel Ready Certification is available to sites in New York that are suitable for the type of development proposed, have proper zoning and infrastructure, have completed the appropriate studies and have received the necessary permits and approvals. The Shovel Ready Certification program is jointly administered by Empire State Development and the Governor’s Office of Regulatory Reform and has allowed development agencies like the CCIDA and communities like Ripley to proactively seek out the type of development most suited to their local needs.
Between 1999 and 2008, the Shovel Ready Certification Program brought over $100 million in capital investment to the state, creating 858 new jobs and retaining 1,555 more. There are currently 31 sites across the state certified as “shovel ready”.
The Shovel Ready Certification also comes with marketing assistance from Empire State Development, a service CCIDA Chief Financial Officer Richard Dixon says will be crucial in finding a suitable end-user for the Ripley site. “Empire State Development has been and continues to be a great partner throughout this entire process,” he says. Once Shovel Ready Certification is granted, the Ripley site will be listed with Empire State Development, a go-to resource for potential developers in New York. The CCIDA is also working with the Buffalo-Niagara Enterprise to market the site both nationally and internationally.
The SEQR process for the Ripley site led to the identification of some potential environmental impacts, key among them the presence of nearly 27 acres of wetlands. The wetland delineation led to a reduction in the potential building footprint from 1.5 million square feet to 1 million square feet. The conceptual building layout and parking areas were also reconfigured to avoid significant adverse impacts to identified wetland areas.
As the specific impacts associated with an actual proposed building were not known, the SEQR process was completed utilizing a generic environmental impact statement. The generic impact statement identifies and analyzes potential impacts associated with several alternative plans for the site, identifies a preferred alternative, suggests any needed mitigation measures and establishes thresholds for future environmental review. The ultimate end-user of the site will still be required to obtain specific site plan approval and other municipal permits on the local level.
Ripley Town Supervisor Peter Ryan is excited by the potential impact a 1 million square foot distribution center or light manufacturing facility would have in Ripley. At the public hearing on the Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement, Ryan thanked the CCIDA for its work in preparing the site for a potential end-user. “I would like to say that on behalf of the Town Board and the Town of Ripley, we appreciate very much all the work that the CCIDA is doing on this project,” he said. “We think it will be a benefit to the Town and it’s a perfect development opportunity for some distribution warehouse or light manufacturing applicant. We’re wholeheartedly behind the efforts here.”
Further information on the Ripley Interstate Site Development Project is available on the CCIDA’s website.
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TAGS
CCIDA, economic development, Ripley, SEQR, shovel ready, permitting, distribution center |
