The Business Council of Westchester is closing out what its CEO called “a banner year” for the 1000-member organization with the launch of an Economic Development Leadership Council to formally review proposed development projects and publicly champion those that meet its selection criteria.
Addressing an audience of about 600 members and guests Thursday night at the Business Council”™s annual dinner at the Hilton Westchester, President and CEO Marsha Gordon said the council will support jobs-creating projects that promote “intelligent and sustainable growth.”
Timothy M. Jones, managing partner and director of Robert Martin Co. in Elmsford, will serve as chairman of the new council, whose other members have yet to be named. Jones also heads the Business Council”™s 3-year-old Westchester Coalition for Business Development, which includes business and community leaders addressing a range of development initiatives and issues, including affordable housing and youth flight, in the county.
Gordon said the new economic development council will establish a more formal process for project review “so businesses that are growing and developing come to the Business Council for almost a Good Housekeeping seal of approval.” Business Council representatives could appear before municipal boards to support companies”™ proposals, she said.
Gordon said the council also will review candidates for a new quarterly Business Champions Award to businesses “that have relocated, recommitted, expanded or started a business” in Westchester.
The Business Council Thursday night presented its inaugural award to a trio of business champions: developers Joseph Simone, president of Bronx-based Simone Development Cos., and John J. Fareri, president of Fareri Associates L.P. in Greenwich, and their project partner in Purchase, Dr. Simeon Schwartz, founding president and CEO of Westmed Medical Group.
Simone and Fareri have broken ground on an 85,000-square-foot medical office building at 3030 Westchester Ave. in the Harrison Executive Medical Park, the first new office building construction in 25 years along the county”™s office-park corridor. Its sole tenant will be Westmed, which Schwartz at a recent groundbreaking ceremony said will employ 60 to 70 physicians there.
Scheduled to open in January 2015, it will be the multispecialty group practice”™s fifth full-service medical center in the county.
Gordon said the Purchase medical center will generate 600 jobs.
Accepting the award Thursday night for Simone was Patricia Simone, vice president of leasing and operations for Simone Development. Anthony Viceroy, Westmed”™s chief financial officer, accepted the award on behalf of Schwartz.
