- By Dan Veaner
- Business & Technology
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Village of Lansing Trustees voted to endorse losing a business Monday. Well, not exactly. They actually voted to help a business that has been located in the Village to make a move to an Empire Zone location in the Binghamton area, where Silicon Solar is consolidating three locations including an office in the Village. In order for a company to move into an Empire Zone from a non-Empire Zone location the municipality they are leaving has to certify that it is because of extraordinary circumstances."There are currently three offices in upstate New York," explained Silicon Solar COO Matthew Crouch. "There is a warehousing office, an engineering office here in Ithaca, and a training facility in Bainbridge, New york. It has proven very expensive to maintain all three of those locations. We need to combine all three locations into one."
Crouch said the company looked for a site in Lansing or Ithaca that meets its needs, but couldn't find one that is big enough. They need approximately 120,000 square feet for their manufacturing facility. Silicon Solar manufactures and distributes solar panels, solar cells, lights, fountains, and solar hot water heating systems.
"The company can't afford to build an entirely new facility," Crouch said. "That's the motivation for relocating to Broom County."
There are six Empire Zones are physical areas that seek to encourage businesses to create local jobs by offering wage and investment tax credits, capital credit, and a New York State tax refund. When located in an Empire Zone businesses must apply to the State Department of Economic Development and be approved before they can participate. As of two years ago over 6,000 businesses were participating in Empire Zones across New York State.
Currently the program is closed to new entrants, and the State is encouraging businesses to participate in the Excelsior Jobs program instead. But rules still apply to existing Empire Zones, necessitating Monday's vote.
Crouch said that one engineer, one IT person, and one sales person are all that are left in the Village of Lansing office. Another sales person left because they were not willing to telecommute or commute to the new facility. Crouch himself is already commuting to the Binghamton site.
The board voted unanimously to endorse the move. Mayor Donald Hartill said he hopes at some time in the future the company will be able to relocate in the Village.
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