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We have seen this time and time again. Company announces "possibly" bringing jobs to WNY and it makes the headlines. Considering they didn't want Amazon even with a 10 million dollar sweetener for Grand Island. I take all these announcements with a pound of salt. I would love to see it happen, the area certainly could use it. Down here in Jax something like this, doesn't even make the news. IMHO, NYS would be better served making the area more business friendly and lower taxes, so massive public subsidies are not a prerequisite for locating here.
You have to be more specific. It wasn’t that the Amazon deal fell through because of some state issue. Keep mind, an Amazon facility just opened in Schodack in the Albany area and the facility in Clay outside of Syracuse is coming along just fine. It was simply a NIMBY movement to not bring Amazon to Grand Island by Grand Island residents that likely played a part in the development folding. I think the NIMBY aspect gets overlooked a lot of times in terms of development/business in the state.
Subsidies are almost always a part of the deal with economic development across the country.
You have to be more specific. It wasn’t that the Amazon deal fell through because of some state issue. Keep mind, an Amazon facility just opened in Schodack in the Albany area and the facility in Clay outside of Syracuse is coming along just fine. It was simply a NIMBY movement to not bring Amazon to Grand Island by Grand Island residents that likely played a part in the development folding. I think the NIMBY aspect gets overlooked a lot of times in terms of development/business in the state.
Subsidies are almost always a part of the deal with economic development across the country.
I was referring to the WNY aspect. Those other areas built an Amazon facility and in WNY, nada. How do you think it looks to prospective companies when they see something like the Amazon and Peace Bridge, NIMBY. Its not like WNY is a rapidly growing area and companies are clamoring to come here. Things are touted here are call centers, low paying dead end factory jobs and the like. There are some tech jobs but not a lot compared to other areas.
The exodus of the best and brightest has taken its toll on the labor market in terms of finding qualified applicants. I saw this first hand over 35 years of hiring. We used to get 100 applicants and picking one was tough and as the years went on I noticed a precipitous drop in the number and quality of the applicants. In the years before I retired we were lucky to get 15-20 and many times we had to advertise again because there were no qualified applicants. This drop in the qualified labor force has a substantial impact on the economic viability of the area. I am speaking with 35+ years of first hand experience with a geographically diverse company with over 100 employees.
I was referring to the WNY aspect. Those other areas built an Amazon facility and in WNY, nada. How do you think it looks to prospective companies when they see something like the Amazon and Peace Bridge, NIMBY. Its not like WNY is a rapidly growing area and companies are clamoring to come here. Things are touted here are call centers, low paying dead end factory jobs and the like. There are some tech jobs but not a lot compared to other areas.
The exodus of the best and brightest has taken its toll on the labor market in terms of finding qualified applicants. I saw this first hand over 35 years of hiring. We used to get 100 applicants and picking one was tough and as the years went on I noticed a precipitous drop in the number and quality of the applicants. In the years before I retired we were lucky to get 15-20 and many times we had to advertise again because there were no qualified applicants. This drop in the qualified labor force has a substantial impact on the economic viability of the area. I am speaking with 35+ years of first hand experience with a geographically diverse company with over 100 employees.
This may be a result of a mismatch of skills and education for the jobs that are available as well. In fact, that is an issue in much of Upstate NY, to varying degrees. There are openings with area companies that seem to be posted for quite a while likely due to this. So, could be what you saw later on.
Some factory jobs pay well enough in relation to cost of living. It may just come down to perspective.
To bring it back to this latest announcement, it looks like some things need to line up on the facility front in order to move forward as well.
I used to see really qualified people that were laid off after a long time with a company. Downsizing etc and those people seemed to have either stopped looking for work or left the area entirely. I suspect the latter. As far as the N Falls project, the best thing it has going is "John R. Simon, Stavatti's chief strategic development and asset officer, who is leading the effort for Stavatti. Simon formerly served as executive director of the NCIDA from 1997-2003. He has also been involved in other local ventures in recent years, including an effort to bring a World Weather Center to Niagara Falls."
CK do you know the current status of the World Weather Center?
I was referring to the WNY aspect. Those other areas built an Amazon facility and in WNY, nada. How do you think it looks to prospective companies when they see something like the Amazon and Peace Bridge, NIMBY. Its not like WNY is a rapidly growing area and companies are clamoring to come here. Things are touted here are call centers, low paying dead end factory jobs and the like. There are some tech jobs but not a lot compared to other areas.
The exodus of the best and brightest has taken its toll on the labor market in terms of finding qualified applicants. I saw this first hand over 35 years of hiring. We used to get 100 applicants and picking one was tough and as the years went on I noticed a precipitous drop in the number and quality of the applicants. In the years before I retired we were lucky to get 15-20 and many times we had to advertise again because there were no qualified applicants. This drop in the qualified labor force has a substantial impact on the economic viability of the area. I am speaking with 35+ years of first hand experience with a geographically diverse company with over 100 employees.
Two other large projects that were highly anticipated, but never materialized, Bass Pro, and the Adelphia Tower.
I used to see really qualified people that were laid off after a long time with a company. Downsizing etc and those people seemed to have either stopped looking for work or left the area entirely. I suspect the latter. As far as the N Falls project, the best thing it has going is "John R. Simon, Stavatti's chief strategic development and asset officer, who is leading the effort for Stavatti. Simon formerly served as executive director of the NCIDA from 1997-2003. He has also been involved in other local ventures in recent years, including an effort to bring a World Weather Center to Niagara Falls."
CK do you know the current status of the World Weather Center?
Two other large projects that were highly anticipated, but never materialized, Bass Pro, and the Adelphia Tower.
Now that is saying something about the local economy considering the fact that Erie and Niagara counties lie on two of the great lakes! Why here in the land locked DFW area, where we have man made reservoirs that the locals call "lakes", we have have two of the larger (not the largest, but still very big) Bass Pro shops in the nation.
Now that is saying something about the local economy considering the fact that Erie and Niagara counties lie on two of the great lakes! Why here in the land locked DFW area, where we have man made reservoirs that the locals call "lakes", we have have two of the larger (not the largest, but still very big) Bass Pro shops in the nation.
Yes, but they are not plunked down in the middle of downtown Dallas or Ft. Worth, but in suburban Garland and Grapevine, in a metro area 7x larger than Buffalo.
There will be no ceremony, although a 21-gun salute – to blast away any vestige of the petrified “Old Buffalo” mindset – might be in order.
It’s six years ago this month that Bass Pro – a project backed by virtually every power broker and politician – mercifully pulled the plug on a nine-year flirtation with the downtown waterfront.
By spurning a $35 million handout, CEO Johnny Morris did us a monumental favor.
Imagine 18-wheelers rolling up 24/7 to a big-box retailer on what has become Canalside’s glorious communal front lawn – the place where concerts bloom, pop-ups blossom and paddleboats re-trace the Erie Canal.
Aaaaagghhhh.
Last edited by RocketSci; 09-13-2020 at 07:24 AM..
Yes, but they are not plunked down in the middle of downtown Dallas or Ft. Worth, but in suburban Garland and Grapevine, in a metro area 7x larger than Buffalo.
I agree a lot has happened on the waterfront, but it was decades overdue. Its not like, all of a sudden the waterfront appeared, it has been there for many years and nothing was done. That is all well and good, but there is no "game changing" project like a downtown stadium, Peace Bridge replacement or most of all, a new convention center whose absence is costing the city 30+ millions in lost revenue annually. Its mostly apartment conversions of old buildings whose viability is linked to the expiring tax breaks. Amazon tries to come to the area and gets the cold shoulder. The Ralph Wilson Foundation, may he RIP, has done some nice things. A new convention center would help the hotel industry downtown and restaurants as well.
This is from 2 years ago and I don't see anything happening:
Yes, but they are not plunked down in the middle of downtown Dallas or Ft. Worth, but in suburban Garland and Grapevine, in a metro area 7x larger than Buffalo.
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