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Plattsburgh:
Top 10 Ranked Community in the United States
Plattsburgh
economy has actually been good, local officials say
Story by Tats
Kasama
While the
new airport will increase the economic growth rate Plattsburgh's economy
has been very good, according to local officials.
Even before the new airport, Plattsburgh has been ranked by Site
Selection magazine among the top 10 communities in America for
economic development for eight years in a row. Site Selection
is a bi-monthly magazine that includes analysis of economic development
of regions, politician and industry leaders interviews and directories
of service providers for new-site planners.
The time period Plattsburgh has been listed is between the Air Force Base
closing in 1995 and the new airport opening.
Plattsburgh
International Airport, which will open in July 2007, will bring the
airport-related companies and institutes, such as Laurentian Aerospace
Corp. and Plattsburgh
Aeronautical Institute, with high-paying job opportunities and technology.
According to census data, Clinton County population decreased by 7.1 percent
during 1990 to 2000, while New York increased 5.5 percent during the same
period. The Air Force Base closing may sound like a huge loss for the
economy of this region. However, "the Air Force Base, as it turned
out, did not have as large an impact on our economy as was generally believed,"
said Becky Manor of Plattsburgh
North Country Chamber of Commerce. "Because the base was a Strategic
Air Command (SAC) base, it was really a self-contained city with all the
amenities a city normally has, such as restaurants, stores, places of
worship and recreational opportunities."
According to Susan Matton, vice-president for economic development at
the Chamber of Commerce, the base's economic impact was about 5 percent
of Plattsburgh’s economy during the 1980s and 1990s. She added: "It
was actually fortunate that the Air Force Base closed. It was a big loss
to us emotionally, but we would not have had the space to put all those
businesses. Now it is pretty much full."
Site Selection ranked Plattsburgh in the seventh place in "Top
Micropolitans" section for 2005, fourth place in 2004, and second
place in 2003. Before 2003, when the magazine began the "Top Micropolitans"
ranking, it had similar "Top Small Towns" ranking, and Plattsburgh
had been listed in it for the last five years.
What exactly is a micropolitan? The United States Office of Management
and Budget defines metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas. Each
micropolitan statistical area must have at least one urban cluster with
a population between 10,000 and 50,000. The United States has 577 micropolitan
statistical areas, as of December 2005.
Site Selection has ads of regional chambers as well as private
companies, but "Advertisers do not affect the ranking in any way
whatsoever," editor, Mark Erand, said.
The ranking depends on the number of new or expanding corporate facility
projects that have at least $1 million of capital investment, 20,000 square
feet of new floor space or 50 new jobs. Plattsburgh had 11 projects in
2005.
"The
total projected cost of the entire development [of the windmills in Clinton
County] is probably approaching 300 million dollars"
According
to Matton, last year was very good, and this year is even better, though
the number of projects this year has not yet been confirmed. The projects
ongoing or done this year include a windmill setting and constructing
the Gateway. As part of the New York State windmill project, a windmill
turbine, which costs more than two million dollars, was installed in Marble
River Wind Farm in Clinton County. The Gateway, now under construction
on the corner of Durkee Street and Broad Street, will have 45,000 square
feet floor to provide for retail, restaurant and offices. Additionally,
Plattsburgh has many more projects that do not comply with the Site
Selection’s standard but surely contribute to the region’s economy.
|  The construction of the Gateway at Plattsburgh will be completed in spring 2007.
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What about Plattsburgh has attracted new businesses,
and what factor has made existing ones expand?
The New York State Empire Zone Program is surely one
of the major factors. "An Empire Zone is essentially a two square mile
area that is free of New York State taxes," Matton said. She serves
on the Empire Zone Board for Clinton County. "Without the Empire Zone
program, Home Bistro
would probably not exist," David Thompson, CEO of Home
Bistro
Foods, Inc., told Empire State Development last year. This company had
an expansion last year, from under 20 employees to over 100, and now has
120,000 customers, according to Marketing Coordinator Nina Lavigne.
Cheap electricity in this region is another factor to attract the plastic
industry, which needs a lot of electricity to function. Matton said,"Plattsburgh
has six or seven plastic manufacturers because our electricity rate is so
low. If you make plastic, you have to heat the plastic up, and then have
to cool down." Both heating and cooling usually need a lot of electricity.
She added that the cold climate in this region helps attract the industry
because it requires much less electricity in the cooling process in the
north than in the south.
The good geographic condition, with transportation and broadband infrastructure,
has also played a huge role. The United States has the biggest buying power
in the world. It has about 10 times the Canadian
population has, so many Canadian companies have wanted to sell products
in the United States. Plattsburgh is one of the best places to put bases
because it is close to the border, and has an interstate, airport, and railroad.
It also has the best broadband infrastructure in the Adirondack regions.
"The
economy of the Plattsburgh region has become very diverse over the last
two decades"
The new
and expanding businesses have been making the Plattsburgh economy stronger
and stronger. Manor explained the business diversity minimizes the impact
of downturns in one segment of the economy. Therefore, though we sometimes
hear negative news, such as the big layoff of Bombardier
Transportation, which is the world’s largest company in the rail equipment
manufacturing industry, Plattsburgh's economy is not affected so much,
because of the diversity.
Though many people who were working for the Air Force Base once left Plattsburgh,
some have been coming back because they liked life in Plattsburgh. They
can be the new labor force, and attract new corporate facilities too.
What
kind of business do you think enhances Plattsburgh economy?
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Windmill Project
New York State has pledged to get 25 percent of its electricity from renewable
sources by 2013. 18 percent already comes from hydropower. Most of the
remaining seven percent will come from the wind. Marble River Wind Farm
in Clinton County plans to install 109 turbines by 2008, and the total
projected cost will be 300 million dollars, according to Anne Waling of
Marble River Wind Farm.
|  A windmill turbine under construction in Marble River Wind Farm. The Farm plans to install 109 windmill turbines by 2008.
Courtesy of PPM Energy and Horizon Wind Energy
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New York State Empire Zone Program
In 1986, New York State created Economic Development Zones in which various
incentives made economic growth more attractive. This program has attracted
new businesses to the Empire Zones and enabled existing businesses to
easily expand and create more jobs. Over 9,800 certified businesses employing
more than 380,000 people are in 82 Empire Zones in New York State.
To participate in the program, a business must be located in an empire
zone, or qualify as a regionally significant project, and become zone
certified. The business must be able to demonstrate that it will create
new jobs and/or make investments and be consistent with the local zone’s
development plan.
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