Cooking up deals
Economic development has become big business in Westchester County. Despite having five ”“ and soon, six ”“ separate state, county or private entities engaged in business attraction and retention, economic development officials say the cliché “Too many cooks spoil the broth” simply does not apply.
For those companies seeking assistance to relocate, expand or stay in Westchester, there are many resources to choose from.
Recently, the county”™s two business organizations set up separate economic development entities ”“ the Westchester County Association”™s “Blueprint for Westchester” and the “Westchester Coalition for Business Development” by The Business Council of Westchester.
These groups join New York state”™s Empire State Development Corp., the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corp. and Westchester County”™s Office of Economic Development, including the county”™s Industrial Development Agency, in providing assistance to businesses looking to relocate, expand or stay in Westchester. In addition, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to announce this month the establishment of 10 Regional Economic Development Councils, including one for the Hudson Valley, to provide direction and guidance to local efforts as well as prioritize projects statewide. This list does not include municipal departments engaged in business attraction or retention, as well as IDAs in Mount Vernon, Mount Pleasant, New Rochelle, Peekskill, Port Chester and Yonkers.
At a July 7 press conference organized by the Business Council”™s Coalition for Business Development that touted the release of recommendations to strengthen the county”™s economic development efforts, Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino addressed the rather crowded economic development landscape.
“I think you can never have enough smart people working around the table for the same goal and that is what everyone is trying to do here,” Astorino said, noting he also attended the County Association”™s Blueprint for Westchester launch in May.
Astorino touted the work of the county”™s Office of Economic Development, under the direction of Laurence Gottlieb, and Empire State Development in retaining Pepsi Bottling Group and Atlas Air Worldwide earlier this year. He said the county has received input from a host of organizations regarding economic development policy in order to bring new business and jobs here.
“It is clear to me that everyone wants to get to the same location,” Astorino said. “And now it is important for everyone to work together to get to the same location. What we cannot have is everyone going off (on) tangents and in different directions, because then there would be chaos.”
Astorino continued, “Because if somebody from Oshkosh or San Diego or Spain wants to do business in Westchester, then they need to know who to call and they need to know we are all on the same page.”
He said his short-term goal will be to get all the economic development organizations at the same table and to work together despite some differences in philosophy and opinion on tactics.
The Business Journal asked representatives of the major players in the economic development sector about their respective initiatives and whether cooperation and perhaps consolidation is necessary and if it can be achieved.
The Business Council of Westchester”™s recently formed Westchester Coalition for Business Development concluded its 39-page report on the key economic development issues facing the county with the statement that the county and business community should “create a Westchester County economic development public-private partnership as one united force charged with retaining existing businesses and attracting new businesses to Westchester County.”
Marsha Gordon, president and CEO of the Business Council, said the council is committed to working with the county”™s Office of Economic Development to create a unified message to the business community and praised the county executive”™s plan to sit down with the various agencies.
While the coalition”™s report set the agenda for what needs to be done to make Westchester a better place to do business, “It is clear that the Office of Economic Development is the lead economic development organization in Westchester,” Gordon said.
She does not see the crowded landscape as an issue as long as county government is viewed as the agency ultimately in charge of economic development. She said the coalition”™s charge ”“ under its Chairman Tim Jones, managing member of Robert Martin Co. L.L.C. of Elmsford ”“ is to work on an implementation plan for the short- and long-term goals detailed in its report that was submitted to Astorino.
William Mooney, president of the Westchester County Association, said the fact that 6 million square feet of office space in Westchester stands vacant was the chief reason The Blueprint for Westchester group was formed.
He said he doesn”™t think it is so unusual for a host of groups to combat a particular issue. “The good part about it is that everybody is trying to solve a problem that needs attention,” he added.
Mooney, a former banking executive who in the late 1990s was president of the Westchester Partnership for Economic Development, a not-for-profit that served as the county”™s chief economic development agency, said the County Association”™s and Business Council”™s organizations are in their early stages. “I think over time between now and the end of the year there is no question in my mind that there will be a unified approach to this whole thing,” Mooney said. “There has to be in order for this to succeed.”
He added that in addition to cooperation between the six economic development agencies, the county also must obtain input and cooperation from its major cities.
Beginning in 1990, the business community began attempting to influence economic development in Westchester when the county”™s then top four development companies funded and established the “Westchester Business Partnership,” which augmented the work of the county”™s economic development efforts under then County Executive Andrew O”™Rourke. The organization was headed by Con Edison executive George Delaney.
In the mid-1990s, the county awarded a contract to the Westchester County Association, which established the Westchester Partnership for Economic Development headed by Mooney, and eventually took over all economic development activities for the county.
Andrew Spano, shortly after taking office as county executive in 1998, shifted economic development responsibilities back to county government.
Mooney is hopeful that eventually all county-based economic development efforts will be under one public-private partnership umbrella organization.
Kenneth Adams, president, CEO and commissioner of Empire State Development, said the agency is working with the existing local economic development agencies to provide the tools to attract and retain major companies in Westchester.
Commenting on the governor”™s regional councils, he said they will engage local shareholders in Westchester “to come up with a regionally targeted business strategy that creates meaningful and lasting economic activity.”
Mike Oates, president and CEO of the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corp., a not-for-profit agency that promotes business attraction in seven Hudson Valley counties, including Westchester, said his agency has partnered with Westchester County government to develop the “BioHud Valley” initiative to attract biotech companies to the region.
Commenting on the number of agencies working on business attraction in Westchester, he said, “As long as every organization understands and executes on their mission, ultimately we are all trying to bring investment and jobs in the region.”
He added that companies looking for assistance will likely first contact Westchester”™s Office of Economic Development. Oates noted the recent efforts that led to the retentions of Pepsi Bottling and Atlas Air, and BioMed Realty Trust”™s purchase of the Ardsley Park Life Science campus and the 138,000-square-foot lease by Acorda Therapeutics there began with initial contacts with the county”™s Office of Economic Development.
Therefore, he said the crowded landscape should not be confusing to a prospective company looking for help, “as long as each organization has a clear mission as to what they are out there to accomplish.”
Economic Development Players
Westchester Office of Economic Development
Director: Laurence Gottlieb
The office and Team Westchester ”“a partnership of public and private professionals ”“ offer financial assistance and related services and incentives to promote economic investment and help businesses prosper in the county.
Empire State Development
President and CEO: Kenneth Adams
Regional director, mid-Hudson office: Susan B. Jaffe
ESD promotes business investment and growth statewide by offering loans, grants and tax credits, as well as other financing and technical assistance.
Regional Economic Development Councils
Regional director: TBD
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is expected to announce sometime this month details on a plan to establish 10 councils that will serve as a one-stop shop for all state-supported economic development and business assistance programs in each region. Lt. Governor Robert Duffy will oversee the councils, which will be drawn from the private sector, local governments, state agencies and academic institutions.
Hudson Valley Economic Development Corp.
President and CEO: Mike Oates
HVEDC is a single resource for companies considering relocating or expanding in the seven counties it serves: Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange, Dutchess, Ulster and Sullivan.
Blueprint for Westchester
Chairman: William Cuddy
Executive director: Marissa Brett
The blueprint was established by The Westchester County Association and its immediate goals are to reduce the inventory of unoccupied commercial space by 50 percent (or 3 million square feet), embark on a strong advocacy campaign in Albany for business?friendly measures and raise $3 million to staff and conduct the first part of a campaign to market the county”™s strengths nationwide.
Westchester Coalition for Business Development
Chairman: Tim Jones
The coalition”™s mission statement reads: to develop strategies specifically focused on retaining existing businesses and attracting new ones to Westchester. The coalition is working on an implementation plan concerning recommendations it issued to Westchester County government earlier this month.