The Genesee County Economic Development Center is surging ahead with various projects related to its STAMP campus in the Town of Alabama. The center’s senior vice president Chris Souzzi believes with more than $7 billion in investment in recent years, it could kickstart other high-tech manufacturing developments.
“So, once you have that first anchor tenant in, then it's real. Then that helps me on the business development side,” Souzzi said.
Because STAMP is halfway between Rochester and Buffalo and its “shovel-ready status,” Suozzi said business develops quicker.
“The sites have to be shovel-ready. So, we have eight industrial parks in Genesee County, of which now I have four sold out. The reason was we had those shovel-ready, and then we come to events like today with commercial realtors,” Souzzi said. “We're tied in with them. We're tied in with our regional partners like Invest Buffalo Niagara, Greater Rochester Enterprise, and, of course, Empire State Development.”
Companies such as Plug Power, Edwards Vacuum and Stream Data Center are all part of seven-figure deals at the complex. The Tonawanda Band of Senecas have expressed opposition. Citizens say the industrial development could impact their Big Woods forest, and the lack of communication to them is an aggression against Native sovereignty.
