LoHud.com Day in the Life: Yonkers The Journal News Thursday, October 20, 2005 UK Advertorial Advertorial Advertorial ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT UPDATE FROM MAYOR PHILIP A. AM1COUE Yonkers is a city on the move. With more than $3 billion worth of major economic development projects, we have started an economic development boom in our city. Job growth and employment rates in Yonkers are outpacing every other large city in the state, including New York Gty. In addition to the $3 billion worth of projects proposed or currently underway, numerous projects initiated over the past 18 months have already been completed and are producing substantial revenue streams and job growth for the city.
Our economic development agencies are creating a Yonkers renaissance. Our Vision for the Future Among the highlights of Yonkers' economic development success story are the attraction to Yonkers of DIAM International, for its world headquarters, the new Yonkers Raceway video lottery casino, a minor league ballpark planned for downtown, the continuing revitalization of the city's Hudson River waterfront, and Ridge Hill Village a large, mixed-use development. The driving force behind this tremendous, positive change has been the city's new, business-like approach to real estate developers and business owners throughout the U.S. Yonkers, New York State's fourth-largest city, is in competition with every other American city and we are ready now to negotiate deals that make economic sense for private businesses and the taxpayers of Yonkers alike. Foremost among our initiatives is the city's $1.2 billion downtown redevelopment master plan to be designed and implemented by Struever Bros.
Eccles Rouse of Baltimore, a firm that gained world fame for redeveloping Baltimore's Inner Harbor. The Struever plan, to be put into place with the developer's partnership with Fidelco Realty Group, will provide the city with a new, 6,461 -seat, Atlantic League baseball stadium at Chicken Island downtown, and approximately 3,200 new housing units, 200,000 square feet of retail space, additional downtown parkland and public parking. The master plan also includes "day lighting'' the Saw Mill River that flows under the business district's streetscape and into the Hudson River. Although it's a well-known fact that the Saw Mill River flows underground through our downtown, Struever had the vision to uncover it and create a waterside esplanade. The river walk, coming soon, will be a tremendous downtown attraction.
Several miles from the central business district, yet still within the 18-square-mile limits of the city, is the planned 84-acre, $600 million mixed-use Ridge Hill Village project. This dynamic project, to be developed by Brooklyn, NY, based Forest City Ratner, will feature 1.2 million square feet of retail development, 240,000 square feet of office space, up to 1000 residential units and a hotelconference center. Forest City is a nationally respected, pioneering developer and is widely regarded for its role in the highly successful revitalization of downtown Brooklyn. When completed, Ridge Hill Village will generate an estimated $50 million in revenue to the state, county and city. Another high-profile project is the $185 million renovation of the 100-acre Yonkers Raceway complex.
Completion of a new casino on the property is slated for 2006. The new building will house several restaurants and 5,500 video lottery terminals. State approvals for the terminals are in place, and the Raceway will produce as much as $42 million in city revenue over the next five years. Just a half mile from the Raceway, the Cross County Shopping Center, one of America's first shopping malls, is undergoing a $105 million renovation, facilitated by Yonkers Industrial Development Agency. Our Accomplishments So Far Other IDA projects totaling in the hundreds of millions of dollars that have already been completed within the past 1 8 months include: the $1 7 million relocation of Diam International's world headquarters from Queens, NY Working together with Pace University, Yonkers IDA has also completed the nValley Technology Center.
Pace has leased 14,000 square feet within the 1 nValley technology Center at 470 Nepperhan Avenue. Twenty-two early stage firms are expected to occupy the incubator. the industrial relocation of Atlantis Worldwide, a manufacturer of medical imaging and radiology equipment, to Nepperhan Avenue. the completion of the $1 6 million, 600-car parking garage adjacent to Station Plaza. the imminent inauguration of high-speed ferry service from the Yonkers Pier to midtown and lower Manhattan a 29-minute trip along the Hudson River.
numerous new restaurants and stores have opened or are opening very soon throughout the central business district. Aureon Laboratories, a bio-science company that started up here in 2002, has now doubled its size within the city's i-Park development. The word is getting out that Yonkers is a very good place to do business. That translates directly into jobs for the city's workforce. Over the past two years, the Gty of Yonkers leads New York State's five largest cities in employment growth a key economic health indicator, according to a new analysis of New York State Department of Labor statistics.
Job Growth Leader of the State's "Big 5" Cities Our analysis of the state data demonstrates that Yonkers was ahead of New York Gty, Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse in three important employment growth areas: number of resident and non-resident employees; unemployment rate; and growth of resident labor force. Over the past two years, Yonkers has experienced the fastest rate of employment growth among the state's largest cities, by a wide margin. I am proud to say that Yonkers now has the fastest growing labor force among the state's 'Big 5' cities. Our city's resurgence, fostered by a sea change in the way we do business and sparked by key economic investment in our community is now paying dividends in the creation of jobs, jobs and more jobs. The number of new jobs we have created here has not gone unnoticed.
Hard working families are now moving to the city to find steady employment. In turn, they enrich the Yonkers' economy with consumer spending. In July 2005, Yonkers possessed the lowest unemployment rate among the state's five largest cities. Among the highlights of the 'Big 5" economic indicators are: Total Employment July '03 to '05 Total employment in Yonkers jumped 4.9 since July 2003. Over the same period, New York Gty's overall employment increased 3.8.
From July '03 July '05 Buffalo's employment figures grew 2. Rochester's employment rate remained virtually unchanged at 0.1. Total employment in Syracuse increased 3.5. Unemployment Rate July '03 to '05 Yonkers' unemployment rate was 5.4 in July 2005 the lowest among the Big 5 cities. New York Gty's unemployment rate was 6.0.
Buffalo's was 7.4. Rochester's was 6.7. Syracuse's was 6.1. Labor Force Growth July '03 to '05 Yonkers' labor force growth outstripped that of all of the Big 5 cities. During the past two years, Yonkers' labor force grew by 4.6.
By comparison, New York City's labor force grew by 1.1. Buffalo experienced a 1.3 increase. Rochester's labor force shrank slightly 0.9 decrease. The Syracuse labor force grew 3.1 increase. As Mayor of the fourth largest city in New York State, I'm proud of what we have accomplished together our hard working dty residents and our government agencies pulling together to attract and retain new businesses and development to Yonkers.
Everything I've described can happen only when a city government demonstrates its willingness to work with business owners and corporations on a one-on-one, '247 level This is what's happening today in the Gty of Yonkers! Yonkers Industrial Development Agency Phone: (914)377-6797 E-mail: infocityofyonkersida.com Office of Economic Development Phone: (914)377-6797 E-mail: infoYonkersEcoRDev.com Website: www.YonkersEconDev.com Website: www.cityofyonkersida.com.
