2022 36th Edition: September 26th - September 30th | |
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR MEDIA SPONSOR: | |
|
Seizing the Opportunity to Compete for High-Value Manufacturing Projects
Globalization has long impacted the location decisions of manufacturing firms; many have decided to locate overseas over the last 20 years. Fast forward to 2022—global pandemics, geopolitical uncertainty, and heightened supply chain risks have complicated economic development and location decision making.
As documented in a recent Wall Street Journal article, American companies are on pace to reshore, or return, a record number of jobs to the United States. One key question arises: How do we, as economic developers, seize the global opportunity to compete for high-value manufacturing projects?
In the book, “Agents of Economic Development,” authors Neal Wade and Dr. Bill Smith famously coined: “If economic developers are not thinking 10 years ahead, then they’re already falling behind.”
Recognizing the global trends in reshoring, federal investment in manufacturing through the CHIPS (“Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors”) Act, and renewed state-wide enthusiasm for manufacturing—we’ve rolled out a new initiative called the Site Inventory Program (SIP).
This initiative is multifaceted, with a key focus on identifying sites and communities that have the infrastructure to accommodate what we call “Strategic Sectors,” consisting of the food and beverage processing, life sciences/pharma, and clean energy manufacturing clusters. In essence, we’re working to reverse-engineer the site selection process—uncovering which communities currently have the infrastructure to site manufacturing projects, and which communities will have the infrastructure in the future.
In a time of heightened risk mitigation in industrial real estate and site selection, Orange County has remained a magnet for speculative industrial investment—with millions of square feet of speculative development in varying stages of the entitlement process. There’s an important message in this phenomenon—the market fundamentals of Orange County are strong and resilient. The proliferation of spec buildings means industrial tenants have an opportunity to enter a highly sought-after market with a degree of speed and predictability that many communities struggle to offer.
As the world around us continues to change, the Orange County Partnership remains uncompromised in our vision to create high-paying, value-added jobs in Orange County. We’re laying the groundwork for the next 10 years through the SIP, while marketing our growing list of spec buildings to companies who are ready to make the move to Orange County.
My very best,
Maureen Halahan
President & CEO
| |
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR BANNER SPONSOR: | | |
|
80,000 SF Available Q1 2023
18 Leonards Drive | Montgomery, NY
|
|
Aging Warehouse Stock, Strong Demand Fueling Record Development Activity | |
A recently released report by commercial brokerage firm CBRE indicates that the average age of U.S. warehouses is 43 years and they do not possess the highly specialized facilities that logistics firms and high-growth occupiers demand. The CBRE report notes that nearly 28% (3.4-million-square feet) of warehouse stock that is 50 years old or more is fueling the record 627 million square feet of new warehouse space currently under construction in the United States so far this year.
CBRE states that major e-commerce and retail distributors require highly functional modern facilities to process a high volume of goods every day. “Demand from these occupiers alone more than justifies the record level of new development,” the report noted.
|
|
A Review of the Fall QPM: Long term planning and dynamic market activity | |
Our last Quarterly Project Meeting (QPM) included an update on strategy, market conditions, and projects in the pipeline. The key theme was focused on long term strategic planning particularly through the Site Inventory Program (SIP). As we continue to build out the program, we’re gathering in-depth data on variables that site selectors are looking at: infrastructure, sites, entitlement timeline, and political environment. This information will allow us to proactively market sites for and engage site selectors in the markets that we are working to be competitive in including food and beverage, clean energy, and advanced manufacturing.
| |
Conor Eckert, Senior Development Officer & Vice President of Business Attraction for the Orange County Partnership, presenting at our QPM Meeting at City Winery on Wednesday, September 14th. | Kaitlynn Lancellotti, Director of Business Retention & Expansion presenting on the new Milk Factory project in the Town of Montgomery. | | |
Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus |
|
O.C. Executive Neuhaus Proposes Large Increase in Infrastructure Spending; Discusses Delays in Route 17 Expansion | |
In a recent exclusive interview with Real Estate In-Depth Orange County Executive Steven M. Neuhaus discussed that in preparation of his annual budget address, he plans to significantly increase county infrastructure spending thanks to surpluses from federal funding through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), as well as county sales tax.
In addition, Neuhaus said he plans to propose a significant property tax cut due to the county’s strong financial position at the moment.
“Some counties are using ARPA money for social programs and things like that. For the most part, all of my ARPA money is going towards infrastructure,” he said, “We have $75 million coming in. We are going to put in at the end of the day about $20 million for a new Medical Examiner’s office and also all sorts of other major infrastructure projects.”
|
|
Workforce Development Offerings at SUNY Orange Expand to Key Growth Sectors | |
A critical facet of a region’s economic future is preparing its youth for the emerging occupations now and in the future. Recently, SUNY Orange announced key initiatives that will expand its offerings that will prepare young students for jobs with e-commerce giant Amazon, the state’s fledgling cannabis sector and the county’s growing food, beverage and hospitality sectors.
On Sept. 20, SUNY Orange announced it had become the latest community college within the State University of New York (SUNY) to be selected as an education partner for Amazon’s Career Choice program, providing Amazon’s hourly employees access to the College’s full array of degree and certificate programs.
Amazon’s Career Choice program is an education benefit that empowers employees to learn new skills for career success at Amazon or elsewhere. The program meets individual learners where they are on their educational journey through a variety of education and upskilling opportunities, including pre-paid college tuition, industry certifications designed to lead to in-demand jobs, and foundational skills such as English language proficiency, high school diplomas, and GEDs. In the U.S., Amazon is investing $1.2 billion to upskill more than 300,000 employees by the year 2025 to help move them into higher-paying, in-demand jobs.
SUNY Orange offers more than 40 degree and certificate programs housed within seven academic communities: Arts and Media; Business; Culture, Society and the Mind; Education and Human Services; Health Sciences and Wellness; Justice and Community Engagement; and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).
“Many residents in Orange County and beyond are looking for convenient ways to access to high-quality, affordable higher education without incurring significant debt, and Amazon’s Career Choice program is an excellent opportunity for Amazon employees to take college credits while they are working,” said Dr. Kristine Young, SUNY Orange president. “I appreciate that Amazon recognizes the value of a SUNY Orange degree to its employees in the Hudson Valley, and that we’ve been selected in New York State for the Career Choice College Track. Amazon is supporting its employees with pre-paid tuition and so this partnership makes great sense for all involved. I look forward to the College and Amazon collaborating closely on other training, certification and educational programming that will mesh with the Pathways and Foundations tracks within the broader Career Choice program.”
|
|
|
SUNY Orange was selected as an education partner for Amazon’s Career Choice program
Credit: Frederic Legrand - COMEO / Shutterstock.com
| SUNY Orange Serving as Lead Campus in New Cannabis Program Offering | Jhack Sepulveda was recently appointed as Executive Director of Orange County FoodTEC. | | |
|
Orange County to host Economic Summit on September 30th | |
Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus has announced that the county will be holding its first-ever Economic Summit on Friday, Sept. 30th at SUNY Orange in Middletown. The theme of the 2022 Orange County Economic Summit that will run from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. will be “Positive Growth and Infrastructure: Progress Today and Planning Tomorrow.”
The Economic Summit will bring together key stakeholders, including elected officials, government administrators, community members, civic leaders, and the business community to discuss key issues, trends, obstacles, and future concerns related to Orange County’s continued economic growth.
|
|
Two Adjoining Middletown Hotels Sell for $34 Million | |
The Marriott Courtyard and Hampton Inn hotels on Crystal Run Crossing off Exit 122 of Route 17 in Middletown have been sold for $34 million.
Brokerage firm Marcus & Millichap reported that the two properties, which combined total 261 rooms, were sold by a limited liability company to a regionally based buyer. Marcus & Millichap represented the seller and procured the buyer in the transaction.
The Marriott Courtyard is located at 24 Crystal Run Crossing, while the Hampton Inn’s address is 20 Crystal Run Crossing.
| |
| |
|
|
Overseas Jobs Returning to U.S. in Record Numbers
While the Federal Reserve attempts to slow down the U.S. economy to ward off a recession, the persistent U.S. strong job market is not just domestic. The number of overseas jobs returning to the United States is setting new records.
The Reshoring Institute recently reported that American companies are on pace to reshore, or return to the U.S., nearly 350,000 jobs in 2022. The 350,000 reshored jobs projected for this year would far exceed the roughly 265,000 jobs added in 2021 and would be more than 50 times the 6,000 jobs reshored to the U.S. in 2010, according to The Wall Street Journal.
A major reason for this dramatic increase is the COVID-19 pandemic, which snarled supply chains worldwide and prompted many executives to bring their business operations back home.
| |
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR BANNER SPONSOR: | |
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR E-NEWSLETTER SPONSOR: | |
STAY CONNECTED!
Follow us on our social media platforms to stay up-to-date on all of the latest economic development news!
| | | | | |
