Ripley, NY, Site Offically 'Shovel Ready'

New York State & Chautauqua County officials today officially announced that the Ripley Interstate Development site has now formally been granted Shovel Ready designation by New York State. The announcement concludes a two-year process, and was made at a press conference at the site unveiling signage acknowledging the designation.

New York State's Shovel Ready Certification is granted to sites deemed ready for new development and job creation. As part of the application process, each site that gets certified is reviewed to match the needs of growing industries and commercial interests. Business leaders, site selection consultants and corporate real estate executives nationwide recognize the Shovel Ready designation as a mark of excellence because they know that these pre-permitted sites will reduce construction costs and development delays, saving them time and money.

“This has been a very long time in coming, but all parties involved are to be applauded for their efforts in helping us receive this very important certification as a Shovel Ready site,” said Chautauqua County Executive Greg Edwards. “This designation enhances our county industrial development agency and our state and regional economic development partners efforts to market this location worldwide,” Edwards said.

The 140 acres of farmland that comprise the Ripley site are located on Route 20 and border the New York State Thruway. Optimal for a wide range of uses, the highly visible site with two operating natural gas wells is ideally located for any type of warehousing and distribution operation. It is located within a 50 minute drive of Buffalo and the Canadian border, and only a 15 minute drive from Erie, Pennsylvania. The site is supported by a transportation network that allows it to access major Northeast and Midwest population centers within a day’s drive.

State Senator Catharine Young also praised today’s formal designation. “Having this shovel ready status is a step forward in our region’s approach to growing jobs and private investment,” the senator said. “Businesses want to invest in communities such as ours that have positive attitudes about their region and a trained and willing workforce that is eager to get to work. This site will attract jobs and economic growth opportunities. Our partnership between local and state governments will bear positive results,” Young added.

New York’s Shovel-Ready Site Certification program is administered by Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC). Participating permitting agencies also include the Departments of Environmental Conservation; Transportation; and Parks and Recreation.

ESDC Western New York Regional Director Christina Orsi represented the state’s economic development arm at the press conference. “Empire State Development is pleased that we were able to partner with the community of Ripley and the CCIDA in taking the proactive steps necessary to have the Ripley site certified as Shovel Ready,” Orsi said. “Having achieved this designation, the site is clear of all pre-permitting hurdles and is ready to attract new business, generate employment and advance economic development in the community.”

Buffalo Niagara Enterprise, the region’s private sector research, marketing, business & economic development organization, has partnered with the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency on marketing the Ripley site in recent years. In 2008, the two groups even collaborated on a labor market study for the area surrounding the site that showed a number of workforce related assets that companies considering the site would find compelling. With the shovel ready designation now secured, they are optimistic about how well the site will be received.

“Logistics & distribution is one of our targeted industries and this site lends very well to opportunities in that cluster,” said BNE President & CEO Thomas Kucharski. “But we won’t limit our efforts to just logistics & distribution. As we conduct our outreach across the country and around the globe, we will promote the Ripley site to opportunities that make sense in advanced manufacturing, cleantech and any of our targeted industries that place high value on prime location, market access and availability of skilled and affordable workforce,” Kucharski said.

In closing out the press conference, CCIDA Administrative Director & CEO William Daly expressed his enthusiasm for the task ahead. “Our goal now is to fill this exceptional 140 acre green space with businesses that will bring new employment into our county,” Daly concluded. More information on the Ripley Site can be found on the homepage of the CCIDA website at www.ccida.com.