ITT expands HQ in county

ITT Corp., a global engineering and manufacturing firm, announced last week it will invest $14.8 million to expand its world headquarters in a new White Plains facility.

The company will receive sales tax abatements from the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency worth $500,000 over a three-year initial period for eligible construction expenses and some $25,000 to $30,000 in energy-cost abatements through a Con Edison business incentive rate (BIR) contract over a seven- to 10-year period. Also, Empire State Development Corp. and ITT have agreed to a series of project milestones, through which the company will be eligible to apply for up to $1 million through the state”™s Jobs NOW funds.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer, during a press conference last week at 1133 Westchester Ave. where the company will lease a 90,000-square-foot facility to serve as its new headquarters, said ITT will be a “major participant” in the state economy for years to come.

“The company”™s decision to expand its headquarters in White Plains reaffirms its commitment to New York and sends a powerful signal about its faith in our efforts to improve the state”™s business climate.”

Spitzer likened himself to the “chairman of the site-selection committee” in his role trying to lure business into the state.

“The nature of the economy is competitive, we are put to the test every day,” he said.

The company currently leases space at 4 W. Red Oak Lane in Harrison. It has been based in Westchester since 1996.

The company plans to move into its new headquarters in the building, owned by RPW Group, in the summer of 2008, according to Angela A. Buonocore, vice president and director of corporate relations for ITT.

The company signed a 15-year lease, she said.

Pat Foye, downstate chairman of Empire State Development, said the state created a package of incentives for ITT when it heard to company might relocate its headquarters elsewhere, including New Jersey, Connecticut and Colorado.

“By working collaboratively, we can continue Westchester”™s growth,” he said.

ITT said it would retain all existing 119 jobs and create 96 new ones within five years of occupying the new space.

With 2006 revenues of $7.8 billion, ITT employs more than 3,700 people in New York state and some 35,000 worldwide.

In addition to the company headquarters in Westchester, ITT has facilities in the upstate counties of Monroe, Seneca, Cayuga and Wayne.