Business

If Batavia is a ring that holds a precious gem, that diamond is now the new Batavia Downs Hotel, said Hart Hotels Sales Manager Shane Draman during a tour Friday of the new facility with the hotel's General Manager Richard Likus.

Both were brimming with pride as they showed off the hotel's amenities, boasting of the subtle details that they believe will earn a four-diamond rating from AAA.

"We’re a destination now," Litkus said. "We have a racetrack. We have a casino. We have four beautiful restaurants in the casino that do room service to our rooms. It’s not like we’re a hub where people are passing through. This is where people are going to come and spend a weekend or spend their anniversaries or spend the holidays. It’s going to be something special."

The finer points include free Wi-Fi, refrigerators and Keurigs with Tim Horton's coffee in all 84 rooms, 310 thread-count sheets and goose-down pillows, hardwood floors and open-air drawer racks (both are more sanitary than carpet and wooden drawers), and spacious rooms with a turn-down service between 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. (which includes a small piece of chocolate left on your pillow).

"People won’t remember what you said," Draman noted. "People won’t remember what you did. People will always remember how you treat them. I think when you take a look at that, how we treat people, the little nuances that are here, the little special things, people pick up on."

There are 40 rooms in the hotel with king-size beds, 40 with double queens and four two-room suites that have a wine cooler the size of a mini-fridge, a refrigerator and sink area with a dining table. There is also a balcony overlooking the racetrack.

Hart Hotels already operates four four-diamond hotels in Watkins Glen, Clayton, Thousand Islands, and Portland, Maine,

Key members of Batavia's new staff were sent to these locations to train.

"Our goal is to be the leading hotel in Batavia and the surrounding area," Litkus said.

The hotel has already hosted several guests, including a convention of 300 members of Rotary clubs from throughout the state and Draman said the feedback so far has been as great as they had hoped. He said people use words like "wow," and "fantastic," when describing the hotel.

From the outside of the hotel, you would never guess how spacious the hotel is, an observation made by several guests, Draman said.

"We've received emails were people have said it's the best hotel they've stayed at," Draman said.

The ribbon cutting for the new hotel will be at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, and Thurman Thomas will be on hand for the ceremony. He was a professional football player, a running back, who spent most of his National Football League career with the Buffalo Bills. 

Press release:

The Genesee County Economic Development Center Board of Directors voted at its Oct. 27 meeting to accept Empire State Development’s $28 million Grant Disbursement Agreement (GDA) to start infrastructure work at the STAMP campus in order to achieve shovel-ready status.

The funding will be used to acquire some remaining acreage at the site and construction and inspection services for water lines, wastewater pump stations and sewer lines, road infrastructure and gas and electric connectivity. It is anticipated that the first bid for infrastructure work will be for the construction of a water system from Oakfield to the STAMP site.

“Based on the release of the funds, we expect that bids will be going out in the next couple of months,” said Mark Masse, CPA, Sr. VP of Operations for the GCEDC. “The other projects that the agency will be putting out to bid over the next few months include onsite construction of the roadway and associated stormwater management.”

Among other things, GCEDC staff is working with its engineering consultants and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Army Corps of Engineers, as well as officials in Orleans County on the permitting for the sewer line to extend from the STAMP campus to the Medina wastewater treatment plant.

STAMP is New York State’s second mega-site designed to attract high-tech companies like semiconductor, solar, photonics, bio-pharmaceuticals, energy storage companies and other advanced manufacturing operations. The campus consists of 1,250 acres and planned development of more than 6 million square feet of manufacturing space.

Overall economic studies estimate that 10,000 employees could work directly on campus with up to 50,000 supply-type jobs created across Western New York and the Finger Lakes regions. The campus will also bring significant construction work to the region.

“STAMP has been validated by site selection community as a highly attractive greenfield site for large advanced manufacturers, and we continue to work with interested companies that are looking for a mega campus with the right infrastructure that includes large electric, gas, water and sewer capacity combined with our amazing workforce here in the Finger Lakes and Western New York regions,” said Steve Hyde, president and CEO of the Genesee County Economic Development Center.

“This is evidenced by securing the commitment of 1366 Technologies, a solar wafer manufacturing company which plans to locate its operations on the campus.”

The Genesee County Chamber of Commerce is moving to its new location next week.

As of Nov. 1, the chamber's official new address will be 8276 Park Road, instead of 210 E. Main St., Batavia.

The phone lines will remain the same: (585) 343-7440, (fax) 585-343-7487.

Press release:

The Board of Directors of the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) voted to accept an application for assistance from T.J. Sheehan, a Massachusetts-based beverage wholesaler with various operations in New York State.

T.J. Sheehan is proposing to convert a former 37,500-square-foot Cargill facility in Alexander to a refrigerated beverage distribution center.  The company intends to invest approximately $1.6 million into the conversion and the project will create nine new jobs. Since the incentives total more than $100,000 a public hearing will be scheduled in the very near future.  

Press release:

The Board of Directors of the Genesee Gateway Local Development Corporation (GGLDC) passed a budget for Fiscal Year 2017 at its board meeting on Oct. 27 adopting a budget with anticipated cash outflows of $1.36 million.

“The mission of the GGLDC is to foster local economic development by making real estate development investments that prepare sites in Genesee County for new corporate tenants. The GGLDC also provides strategic investment funding to support the GCEDC’s ongoing economic development programming,” said Tom Felton, chairman of the GGLDC.

The anticipated 2017 expenditures of the GGLDC include operations and maintenance for the MedTech Centre building, site/corporate park maintenance, an economic development program support grant to the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC), and professional services. Major expenditures include debt service payments of $655,816 on bonds and loans that enabled MedTech Centre building construction and infrastructure development at the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park (Ag-Park).

The budget includes a line item of $100,000 to conduct a study to determine the feasibility and cost of expanding the Village of Corfu’s wastewater treatment plant. The expansion would directly benefit the Buffalo East Tech Park and allow for future growth and development.

Major sources of revenue include rent of $454,647 from the MedTech Centre facility and common area maintenance fees from the Buffalo East Tech Park and Ag-Park. In addition, $205,780 will be received through the Empire Pipeline PILOT Increment Financing (PIF). Additional cash receipts will include $247,481 in principal and interest payments from several companies repaying loans made in previous years.

In 2016 the GGLDC completed several projects including the widening of Route 63 to support commerce in the Ag-Park as well as completing the secondary access road into the Ag-Park from Route 63. Also completed was the widening of Route 5 in the Town of Pembroke by the entrance of the Buffalo East Tech Park.

“The GGLDC will be working to close major deals at our shovel-ready parks in 2017. We have been investing and working to make these parks ready for the last decade and believe that 2017 will be a productive year with new company attractions and more job creation in our parks,” Felton said.

Press release:

Tops Friendly Markets, a leading full-service grocery retailer in New York, northern Pennsylvania, western Vermont, and north central Massachusetts announced today that the company will offer military personnel and their immediate families an 11-percent discount off of their grocery bill this Veterans Day.

On Friday, Nov. 11, Tops Markets will honor an 11-percent discount off of a total order to all veterans and immediate family members in the same household, who shop at any Tops location.  Customers should present proof of service that they, or an immediate family member are a U.S. Veteran, active duty, reserve or retired military personnel to automatically receive an 11-percent discount off of their total purchase that day.

In Genesee County, there are two Tops locations: 390 W. Main St. in Batavia and 128 W. Main St., Le Roy.

“The respect and gratitude we have for the people who serve and have served in the military is immeasurable, and for that we are forever grateful,” said Frank Curci, Tops chairman and chief executive officer. “We wanted to support local military personnel by giving back to our associates and customers who have courageously defended our country and made many sacrifices through their military service.”

Tops is a longtime supporter of military associates and customers. The company’s actions include support of the American Veterans Tribute Traveling Wall, Honor Flight Missions, sending care packages for troops serving domestically and overseas, VA hospital visits, and participation in veteran job fairs, parades and expos.

Press release from the city Department of Public Works:

The City of Batavia is pleased to announce that Ryan Toal, Anthony Cellino, Robert Marvin and Erich Postler have passed the necessary exam and successfully met the requirements to become licensed plumbers in the City of Batavia.

During today's annual meeting of the Chamber of Commerce at Rochester Club West @ Bohn's, Chamber President Tom Turnbull recapped what has been a successful and active year for the local business group.

Turnbull ran through a long list of the Chamber's activities and accomplishments.

The chamber hosted its annual awards, a home show and several business workshops, including ones on public speaking, drugs in the workplace and tax tips. The chamber, of course, attended many ribbon cuttings for new and expanding businesses. The chamber was active in pursuing public policy issues at the local and state level. It administered a small business loan program, hosted business after-hours events, and a trip to China. 

The hot and dry summer was good for tourism, but with the monetary exchange rate weakening with Canada, there were fewer Canadian visitors to the region this year, which looks like it will translate into a 4-percent decline in tourism revenue.

Still, hotels took in about $14.5 million, which translates into about $150 million in local economic impact.

The tourism agency fostered several group visits, including youth baseball tournaments, soccer events, car clubs and even a Winnebago rally at a local RV park.

There were 15,000 visitors to the county, and 1,500 room nights booked.

Turnbull said the chamber is excited to see the new hotel at Batavia Downs open, with a ribbon cutting at 5:30 p.m., Nov. 2.

The chamber will have its own grand opening to look forward to in January at its new office building on Park Road, but staff will start moving into the new facility this week.

"We'll have a have a ribbon cutting, of course," Turnbull quipped. "We're a chamber."

The new board of directors was also introduced:

Chris Suozzi, chairman, from the Genesee County Economic Development Center
Immediate Past Chair: Hiedi Librock, Town of Batavia

The directors are:
Steven Beardsley – Tompkins Bank Of Castile 
Mary Blevins – ESL Federal Credit Union
Tim Call – Empire Tractor
Jeff Cook – Liberty Pumps
Keith Conway – Z&M, Ag and Turf
Jonathan Mager – Arctic Refrigeration Co. of Batavia
Michael Nolan – Batavia Downs Gaming
Chan Patel – Quality Inn & Suites 
Michael R Rivers – Rybak, Metzler & Grasso PLLC
Danielle Rontondo – Terry Hills Golf Course & Banquet Facility
Joseph Teresi – Tompkins Insurance Agencies Inc.
Chris Thorpe – Darien Lake Theme Park
Eric Wies – Clark Patterson Lee
Jennifer Zambito – Genesee Community College Foundation
Robert Bausch – Genesee County Legislative Liaison

Genesee County's unemployment rate continues to say in the low 4-percent range, according to the latest figures from the state's Department of Labor.

The September 2016 rate was 4.2 percent, compared to 4.1 percent a year earlier. 

There are 29,000 Genesee County residents with jobs, out of a labor force of 30,400. The labor force participation a year ago was 30,200.

Total non-farm jobs in Genesee County for September was reported at 23,500. A year ago, 23,600 non-farm jobs were reported in the county.

Are you looking to try something new? Why not take an art class? Life can be hectic at times – slow it down a little by exploring some creative pursuits. The benefits of taking an art class are numerous: self-expression, relaxation, slowing down, awakening other parts of your mind and discovering new talents are just a few.

Press release:

The Board of Directors of the Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC) will consider finalizing an application for assistance from Mega Properties. The agency also will consider accepting an application for assistance from TJ Sheehan, a Massachusetts-based wholesaler at the agency’s Oct. 27 meeting.

Mega Properties is once again expanding its distribution operations in the Town of Batavia on behalf of Brantford, Ontario, Canada-based Koolatron Corporation. Mega Properties is seeking incentives for a build out of 25,000 square feet at its current warehouse at Gateway I. The expansion would increase the building to 70,000 square feet on three acres and would create six new jobs.

The GCEDC Board also will vote on whether to accept an application from Massachusetts-based wholesaler TJ Sheehan in which the company proposes converting a former 37,500-square-foot Cargill facility in Alexander to a refrigerated beverage distribution center. If the board votes to accept the application, there will be a public hearing since the incentives total more than $100,000.

The GCEDC board meeting will be held at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 27. The meeting will be at the MedTech Center, across from Genesee Community College, on the first floor at the Innovation Center, Suite 107. All board meetings are open to the public.

Independent Living of the Genesee Region, along with other community-minded partners, will be hosting an Employment for People with Disabilities Event, including a panel discussion of consumers who have found work, a Job Fair of potential employers, and a FREE breakfast!

This is made possible by Restoration Society Inc.’s ACE Employment Services, the Mental Health Association of Genesee and Orleans Counties, and the Genesee County One-Stop Career Center, with funding by a Grant from the Local Business Advisory Council. 

Genesee County: It will take place from 8 a.m. to noon on Tuesday Nov. 15th at Terry Hills Golf Course, Restaurant and Banquet Facility, 5122 Clinton Street Road, in Batavia.

Registration begins at 8 a.m., followed by breakfast at 8:30; the 9:15 a.m. Consumer Employment Panel includes: David Dodge, Todd Vaarwerk, Veronica Frost and Gail McKee.

They will discuss issues such as the Americans with Disabilities Act barring disability-based discrimination in hiring, and the expectation that employers should make “reasonable accommodations” for employees with disabilities, as long as they are not an “undue burden."

Employment seekers should bring their résumés, be “dressed for success” and ready to talk to hiring managers at the Job Fair, starting at 10:30 a.m. We will be recruiting employers to participate in the Fair up to the day of the event.  

For more specifics and to register to attend, contact Donna Becker at (585) 815-8501, ext. 411, or by email at dbecker@wnyil.org. A limited amount of transportation may be available; if you need it, inquire when you register. Pre-registration is required for you to attend, so arrangements can be made.

James Dillon explained to more than a dozen people who attended the open house Saturday night at the new Harvester Makerspace what a makerspace is all about and what they can do there.

Members will have access to a variety of tools to help them turn their ideas into useful items, art or new products to try and bring to market.

The space provides 3D printing, CNC milling, laser cutting and vacuum forming.

Press release:

Batavia and Genesee County will play host to the upcoming Rotary District 7090 2016 District Conference on Friday, Oct. 21, through Sunday, Oct. 23. More than 300 people are expected to attend the conference to be held at Batavia Downs Gaming, and it will be the first group to utilize the brand-new Hotel at Batavia Downs, in addition to other Batavia lodging locations.

Rotary District 7090 consists of 70 chapters located in both Western New York and Southern Ontario, Canada. The annual gathering allows Rotary members to become immersed in several areas and initiatives of the service club, while also learning about the community they are visiting.

The conference includes an annual meeting and district leadership luncheon, education events, hands-on projects, parties and more.

On Friday night, many of the Batavia restaurants will be busy with a “dine around” event – where conference leaders have arranged for several local restaurants to reserve seats for members and are encouraging exploration within the area. The conference also has a day trip to Letchworth State Park in Wyoming County planned for guests.

The Genesee County Chamber of Commerce has been assisting conference planners with their visit and estimate that the three-day event will result in a $60,000 economic impact on Genesee County.

When it comes to redeveloping the Santy and Della Penna properties on Ellicott Street in Batavia, local officials are ready to go, but on the Empire State Development's map of projects, the project is somewhere five years down the road.

To help move things along, Julia Pacatte, economic coordinator for the Batavia Development Corp., is seeking support from the County Legislature and the City School District, both economic partners in the project, to pass resolutions asking ESD to speed up the process.

"This is an affirmation that the local community is ready to support the project and asking the state to move more quickly than in the next five years," Pacatte said. "We’re ready to go now."

Most of the money for the $17 million Ellicott Station Project is coming from private investment, with a portion of financial support coming from local tax abatements. But officials are also looking for ESD to follow through on its commitment of $2.4 million in grants to pay for environmental cleanup of the properties.

The property qualifies for assistance under state programs because: of the environmental remediation required; the adaptive reuse of property that was developed but fell into disuse; and the economic struggles of the census tract the property is in, with 30 percent of the residents at the poverty level or lower and an unemployment rate of 7 percent. 

The project is expected to produce 60 temporary jobs and 90 permanent jobs.

There are already tenants lined up for office space and the entertainment and restaurant space within the project, and ensuring those potential tenants stay on the hook is one reason for trying to get a faster response from ESD.

The county's Public Service Committee approved the resolution unanimously and the school board will be asked to act on it tonight.

Construction began this week on the new Dunkin' Donuts location on West Main Street, Batavia. The location is on the south side of the street, across from Redfield Parkway and next to Barrett's Batavia Marine.

The new Hotel at Batavia Downs opened for business today.

The ribbon cutting for the new facility won't be until early November.

On a foggy morning earlier this week, we paid a visit to Pully’s Farm Market, located at 8160 Lake Road (Route 19) in Le Roy. It’s just one mile off the New York State Thruway. In the fall months, “Pully’s” is a major destination for visitors looking for autumn fun and decorations. There is so much to love about this place! We’ll let the pictures show why Pully’s is worth the journey.

Visit www.VisitGeneseeNY.com to learn more...