By Wagner Dotto
Rob Simpson, the head of CenterState CEO, is quoted in one of the stories in this Progress Issue that 2022 has the potential to be a hallmark year for Central New York.
“If you look around the region, many of the fundamental parts of our economic strategy are starting to be borne out,” he says, as he explains that he is “very bullish and optimistic on what 2022 is going to hold.”
Indeed, just flip through the pages of this edition of Oswego County Business (CNY’s only business magazine) and you’ll see the number of projects taking place in the region — and the amount of money being injected into the economy.
This is the 29th Progress Issue I’ve published. I don’t recall having an issue focusing on so many projects (big and small) that reach all corners of the region. In the past, we had one or two; now, we have a great number of projects, one more impactful than the other.
And one of the hottest things going on this year?
Central New York is a finalist in the $1 billion Build Back Better Regional Challenge competition. More than 500 regions from 45 states applied for the program. In December the Commerce Department announced 60 finalists — CNY is one of them. Later this year, officials will select 20 to 30 regions as the winners. Each will get upwards of $100 million.
Writer Ken Sturtz reports on the latest of the Build Back Better Regional Challenge (p. 84) and explains in detail the type of projects that are under consideration.
Writer Steve Yablonki spoke with a number of business leaders, businesses owners, mayors and economic development officials. In his stories, he discusses how Fulton is using $10 million from Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) to reignite progress in the city (p. 82). The same thing is happening in Syracuse. The city will receive $10 million in funding as one of the winners of the fifth round of the DRI. Yablonski also writes about what’s hapenning in key sectors of the economy (p. 69).
In his column, Operation Oswego County Executive Director L. Michael Treadwell explains how a recent $5 million funding from the Regional Economic Development Council initiative will help nearly 20 projects in Oswego County, reaching places such as Altmar, Richland and Hastings (p. 78). “A large number of the projects address important infrastructure goals identified in the Oswego County Economic Advancement Plan that was developed a few years ago,” Treadwell said.
And these are just a small sample of what’s in the works across Central New York.
All those will be in addition to the I-81 reconstruction project. The cost will be more than $2 billion, 80% of which would be paid by the federal government. During a visit to Syracuse in January, Gov. Hochul said the project would start in the fall.
Yes, go ahead, fasten your seat belts — and enjoy the ride.
is the editor and publisher of Oswego County Business Magazine.
