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Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency Special Meeting Minutes September 5, 2019 A regular meeting of the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency was held on Thursday, September 5, 2019 at the 333 West Washington Street, Syracuse, New York in the large conference room on the first floor.
Patrick Hogan called the meeting to order at 8:01 am with the following:
PRESENT:
Patrick Hogan Janice Herzog Steve Morgan Susan Stanczyk Kevin Ryan Fanny Villarreal Victor Janno
ALSO PRESENT:
Robert Petrovich, Executive Director Genevieve A. Suits, Secretary Nate Stevens, Treasurer Karen Doster, Recording Secretary, Agency Tony Rivizzigno, Barclay Damon Law Firm Amanda Mirabito, Barclay Damon Law Firm Jeff Davis, Barclay Damon Law Firm Carolyn Evans Dean, Office of Economic Development George Laigaie, Trammell Crow Company Bob Murry, Harris Beach Joe Hartnett, C & S Companies Audrey Fletcher, Darco Mfg David Knapp, Onondaga County Legislature Chair Mitch Latimer, Carpenters Union 277 Deli Vargas, Carpenters Union 277
The Conflict of Interest Statement was circulated and there were no comments.
George Laigaie stated his company is Trammell Crow Company and they are a national developer doing projects like this around the country. He stated this project will comprise about 3.7 million square feet when complete. He stated the ground floor will be about 820,000 square feet; upper floors with a mezzanine will be about 650,000 square feet each and about 88 feet tall. He stated it will be a brand new speculative warehouse distribution facility to which they will be looking for a tenant. He stated the design itself will be state of the art materials and systems. He stated the design will be geared toward the latest state of the art techniques. He stated the materials will be ascetically pleasing and long lasting.
Patrick Hogan stated he would like to welcome this project to the community and it is quite a project. He asked if the project consists of 1,000 jobs with benefits. George Laigaie stated yes. Patrick Hogan stated it is a $280,000,000 project. George Laigaie stated yes.
Patrick Hogan stated the proposed PILOT agreement would be about 20 times more than if the project wasn’t approved. Nate Stevens stated yes.
Susan Stanezyk stated the summary sheet doesn’t indicate money for mortgage tax but in the application there’s a request for mortgage tax abatement. Nate Stevens stated the project is requesting mortgage tax abatement as well.
Kevin Ryan asked if the application is granted today, are there a number of other steps that need to be followed through on the company end. George Laigaie stated yes and they just started the application process with the various agencies. He stated they have been doing due diligence on site for the last 45 days and will go through another 30 to 45 days. He stated they will make the application for rezoning this week to the Town of Clay. He stated they have a series of meetings scheduled through the fall with OCIDA, the Town and the County. He stated they look to have the OCIDA approvals by November 2 and the County and Town by November 6 because of the 4 month statute of limitations period that would take them into March. He stated their expectation is they would like to close in March and start construction or site work immediately. He stated the expectation would be completing the project 3" quarter of 2021.
Steve Morgan asked if the build time of 12-18 months is from when they first start in spring of 2020. George Laigaie stated yes but is weather sensitive.
Victor Ianno asked if they will be using local contractors. George Laigaie stated yes and they will put it out to bid competitively. He stated it is a large and complicated project with a fairly strict schedule so they are hoping everyone will be able to meet the requirements. He stated they will be bidding the schedule as much as anything else.
Victor Ianno asked if there will be a construction manager. George Laigaie stated yes. He stated they would hire a construction manager who will do all the bidding for them and coordinate with the OCIDA.
Steve Morgan asked for Trammell Crow’s background with these types of projects. George Laigaie stated he has been with the company for 32 years and specialized in the warehouse distribution programs around the country for 15 years. He stated they deal with a dozen retailers and e- commerce suppliers around the country. He stated they do a lot of work like this project around the country. He stated he has done projects in Boston, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He stated the OCIDA packet is similar to what they have seen and required by respective tenants in other markets. He stated the building they are building is similar to the new prototype for many retailers so it is a matter of tying it in with a specific user. He stated the expectation is by the start of construction they will know who the user is or shortly thereafter.
Steve Morgan asked if this is a small, medium or large project for what they have done in the past. George Laigaie stated this is a slightly different prototype then they have done in the past but they have done 2 million square foot buildings before. He stated this one has a few more levels involved than what they have done in the past. He stated retailers are going up instead of out because of the price of land. He stated the combination of manual labor and robotics has changed the building shape a bit. He stated they are doing them around the country and it is the new prototype. Victor Ianno asked if there will have to be much done to the infrastructure as far as roads. George Laigaie stated they did traffic studies and there is a traffic report out showing various improvements starting with adding a new lane on Morgan Road. He stated they address signals, signalization, turning lanes and signal modifications to 5 or 6 intersections. Robert Petrovich stated part of the process is the Agency is looking to declare lead agency under SEQRA. He stated there will be an evaluation of those issues under SEQRA. He stated the legal and technical team are positioned and ready to move forward because the schedule is aggressive.
Kevin Ryan asked if the Town is on board in terms of the zone change. Robert Petrovich stated he believes they are working through that process. George Laigaie stated they have met with the Town of Clay and they are making the rezoning application today. He stated they have met on several occasions and the site is a natural if you are going to rezone that area.
Steve Morgan stated year one looks like 500 jobs and year two another 500 jobs. He asked if they anticipate this being a phase in when part of the building is finished. George Laigaie stated depending on the user, some of them will do partial and some of them will not because of the way they occupy the building. He stated if it is done by 2021 they may not get to full capacity until the first of the following year so that is why they display the numbers as the Board sees them. Patrick Hogan asked the public hearing will be scheduled. Robert Petrovich stated yes. Patrick Hogan stated he would like to thank the County Executive’s office and the Economic Development staff for pushing this forward because this is quite an opportunity for the community. Upon a motion by Janice Herzog, seconded by Victor Ianno, the OCIDA Board described the proposed project and the financial assistance the Agency may provide and authorizing a public hearing and the deviation process for the project. Motion was carried.
Upon a motion by Susan Stanezyk, seconded by Victor Ianno, the OCIDA Board approved a resolution classifying the proposed project as subject to SEQRA and declaring the intent of the Agency to be lead agency for the purposes of a coordinated review pursuant to the State Environmental Quality Review Act. Motion was carried.
Upon a motion by Janice Herzog, seconded by Susan Stanezyk, the OCIDA Board adjourned the meeting at 8:16 am. Motion was carried.