The Yonkers Industrial Development Agency board last week gave its final approval to a tax- incentives package for an approximately $27.4 million expansion at Macy”™s in the Cross County Shopping Center. IDA officials also agreed to negotiate a similar package for the planned expansion of the Emerging Health Information Technology data center in the city.
The Macy”™s expansion will add 92,500 square feet of new retail and storage space as well as public parking facilities. IDA officials said the project will generate 225 construction jobs while the expanded department store is estimated to create 54 permanent positions and retain 375 existing jobs.
The final inducement package from the IDA includes a sales and use tax exemption for materials and equipment used in construction. The board also authorized IDA President and CEO Ellen Lynch and agency staff to work out a structured property tax agreement with Macy”™s.
Mayor Philip Amicone, chairman of the Yonkers IDA, in a statement following the board vote said Macy”™s decision to expand in the Yonkers market at a time when the company has put expansions elsewhere on hold “is a testament to (the city”™s) strength.”
The Yonkers IDA also agreed to move ahead on an economic development package for a proposed 8,500-square-foot expansion at 100 Corporate Drive, where Emerging Health Information Technology, a subsidiary of Montefiore Medical Center, has occupied a 15,000-square-foot facility since 2001. The company provides information management services for hospitals, integrated health care delivery systems and medical centers.
The $4.14 million project will generate 15 construction jobs and create 20 permanent positions while maintaining 318 existing jobs. The average salary of the existing jobs is approximately $100,000 a year, while the new positions will average $50,000 per year, according to IDA officials.
“The expansion of this data center demonstrates the growing strength of both health care and information technology industries,” Amicone said. “These are highly skilled, good-paying jobs. Maintaining and supporting the presence of businesses like EHIT and attracting others from the health care sector are critical to the future economy of the city of Yonkers.”
