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State's doubling at RiverBend aims to lure additional businesses to site
The RiverBend clean-energy and technology hub is doubling in size, giving state officials more room to work with as they pursue plans for one of the world's biggest solar panel factories and try to lure other businesses to the complex.
By
purchasing an additional 96 acres at the RiverBend site, the state will gain
control over the entire 184-acre parcel and give it more room to accommodate
its biggest potential tenant, SolarCity and its plan for a sprawling factory,
as well as additional companies that might be interested in locating within the
complex.
The
RiverBend complex already was the biggest single piece of Gov. Andrew M.
Cuomo's Buffalo Billion economic-development initiative, with the state
planning to invest $225 million to build and equip a factory for its first two
tenants, solar panel manufacturer Silevo and LED lighting-maker Soraa.
Those plans
changed dramatically in June when Silevo agreed to be acquired by SolarCity,
the nation's biggest installer of residential solar energy systems, in a deal
worth as much as $350 million. SolarCity executives immediately said they
wanted to vastly expand the scope of the Buffalo factory, making it five times
bigger, with the capacity to make enough solar panels to generate 1 gigawatt,
or 1,000 megawatts, of electricity.
"RiverBend
is at the forefront of a development boom that has literally transformed
Buffalo, and tech companies from across the country and around the world have
taken notice," Cuomo said in a statement.
"Finalizing
this purchase agreement will ensure that RiverBend is prepared to capitalize on
this interest."
Under the
deal announced Tuesday, the state agency overseeing the RiverBend complex
agreed to buy the remaining 96 acres of property from the City of Buffalo for
$2.8 million. The sale is expected to close within the next two months.
The new
purchase will be added to the 88 acres at the former Republic Steel site that
the state bought from Buffalo Urban Development Corp. in a $2.5 million deal
that closed last week.
"This is a
great, great deal for this community," said Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown. "It
speaks to the attractiveness of Buffalo as an economic destination, and it
speaks to the success of Gov. Cuomo's economic-development strategy."
Cuomo said
Monday that he is optimistic that the state and SolarCity will reach an
agreement on a package of additional incentives for the expanded factory that
the company wants to build in RiverBend. The expanded RiverBend factory now is
expected to employ well over 1,000 people, compared with 475 under Silevo's
original plan.
"What this
sale does is keep the momentum going," said Dottie Gallagher-Cohen, president
of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership.
"The
fence-sitters, when they see the positive momentum, want to be part of a
winning team. That's what I'm seeing."
The
acquisition of the entire RiverBend site will give the state more flexibility
as it works with SolarCity on plans for its massive factory. Plans for the
solar panel production plant still are being developed, although state
officials said they expect construction to begin this fall.
State
officials hope that the solar panel factory will establish Buffalo as a center
for solar module manufacturing, which could create the critical mass needed to
attract suppliers and other businesses to support the solar energy industry in
Western New York, making it a magnet for other businesses in the industry and
for workers with expertise and skills.
Brown said
the state's interest in acquiring the remainder of the RiverBend site
intensified after the deal between SolarCity and Silevo was announced.
"After the
sale of Silevo, and with SolarCity having interest in expanding, this became
even more desirable," Brown said. "It provides the land that's needed for the
expansion of SolarCity."
The purchase
agreement also calls for a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes, or PILOT, for future
project development on the newly purchased land if those developments are
otherwise exempt from property taxes, ensuring a steady revenue stream for
local municipalities regardless.
The purchase
agreement calls for Fort Schuyler Management Corp., an arm of the State
University of New York that is managing property purchases for the College of
Nanoscale Science and Engineering, to acquire the land from the Buffalo Urban
Development Corp.
In addition,
under the agreement, the new projects must comply with state requirements that
at least 20 percent of the contractors be minority- or women-owned businesses,
that minorities and women must comprise at least 25 percent and 5 percent,
respectively, of the construction workforce. The state also committed to work
with local schools to create workforce training programs to increase
opportunities for Buffalo residents, particularly women and minorities.
The state
will also purchase and own equipment that the companies will use, while local
colleges and universities will also have access to the facilities, equipment
and partnerships. No direct state funding will go to any companies.
"There is a
buzz throughout this dynamic industry about what's happening in Buffalo and
Western New York," Alain E. Kaloyeros, CEO of the nanoscience college, said in
the statement, "and adding more developable, shovel-ready acreage is a wise and
prudent strategy."