X

IDA approves tax breaks for Corning to assist with $14 million expansion at plant near DeKalb

Posted 5/19/18

By JIMMY LAWTON CANTON -- An agreement with St. Lawrence Industrial Development will provide Corning with tax relief to assist with a $14 million expansion project at its DeKalb plant. The agreement …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

IDA approves tax breaks for Corning to assist with $14 million expansion at plant near DeKalb

Posted

By JIMMY LAWTON

CANTON -- An agreement with St. Lawrence Industrial Development will provide Corning with tax relief to assist with a $14 million expansion project at its DeKalb plant.

The agreement was one of three packages approved by the IDA to retain or create nearly 300 jobs in St Lawrence County.

The IDA approved a payment in lieu of taxes agreement with Corning, Inc. to help the company add 14,000 square feet of space and help retain 250 jobs.

The IDA also approved a $44,600 St. Lawrence River Valley Redevelopment Agency loan the Adirondack Fragrance and Flavor Farm in Parishville to help expand production and a $100,000 loan to LC Drives to help keep the business operating until it receives $500,000 in funding from Empire State Development Corp.

“These projects show a good mix of economic activity happening in the county right now. A globally-recognized firm like Corning expanding its local plant is always a positive sign,” Patrick J. Kelly, IDA CEO said. “Adirondack Fragrance & Flavor Farm showcases our locally-sourced and developed products and LC Drives demonstrates the value of the relationship between Clarkson, industry and the economic development partners in the County. Most important, all three of these projects involve activity where the local workforce is making products that can be sold throughout the world. We obviously want to encourage this kind of activity because in addition to creating jobs, it brings revenue into the County to support others sectors of the local economy.”

Corning

At its May 4 meeting, the St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency approved a sales tax exemption and Payment in Lieu of Taxes agreement with Corning, Inc. to assist with a major expansion, which broke ground in 2014.

Corning is investing approximately $14,000,000 in facility improvements and new machinery and equipment at the plant. The expansion, which will add approximately 14,000 square feet of new space to the facility, includes production equipment, material storage, office and production space and will support the approximately 250 jobs at the plant.

The PILOT will be on the new facilities constructed as a project and will result in approximately $250,000 in new payments to the town, county and school over the 10-year period of the agreement.

The Corning Canton plant has been in operations for over 50 years, having opened in 1966, making mirror blanks for telescopes and other optics applications. 

LC Drives

The St. Lawrence County IDA Local Development Corporation also approved a loan in an amount of $100,000 to LC Drives Corporation as part of a $500,000 loan package with the Village of Potsdam Growth Fund, the Adirondack Economic Development Corporation, and the North Country Alliance to provide interim financing to LC Drives until the company receives funds from a $500,000 Empire State Development grant it was awarded in late 2016.

LC Drives has developed an approach to build electric motors that allows them to be dramatically smaller than any others in the world. This enables smaller and more efficient motors in a broad range of industries including marine propulsion, electric busses, pumps, and wind turbines. The company now employs 16 people in the Damon Hall incubator facility in Potsdam.

Fragrance & Flavor

The IDA Local Development Corporation approved a $44,600 loan through the St. Lawrence River Valley Redevelopment Agency Fund to Adirondack Fragrance & Flavor Farm (Sandy Maine, Inc.).  The loan will assist in the company as it expands its product and packaging line at its facility in Parishville.  The company has six full-time employees and will create at least another one and a half full-time equivalent positions over the next three years.

The company develops Fragrance and Flavor Products that relate to the history, flora, fauna, and landscapes of Northern New York and the Adirondack Region. The company’s products include unique Adirondack handmade soaps, men’s cologne, perfumes, candles, herbal bug repellents, gentle high-quality shampoos for pets, natural home-keeping products and more.