Schumer Secures $200,000 For The Griffiss Local Development Corporation

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced that the SenateHouse Conference Committee approved $200,000 for Griffiss Local Development Corporation under the FY06 Transportation, Treasury, HUD Appropriations Act. The federal funds will go to the development of a technology office complex to support the real estate needs of the information security and research efforts on going at the Griffiss Park. The bill should clear the conference committee tonight and then needs to be approved by the full Senate and House before being signed into law. Schumer had aggressively lobbied members of the Committee to include funding for the project in this years spending bill.

"This is great news for Rome and the entire Mohawk Valley, Schumer said. We need to make sure Griffiss has the capacity they need to accommodate growth as they attract new companies, new jobs, and new energy to the area. This is a major step forward in driving the area's economic development."

The Griffiss Local Development Corporation has seen a strong increase in market demand for classA office space in the Rome, NY area. Typically, these inquiries emanate from high technology companies in need of relatively shortterm leases. The GLDC has leased approximately 118,000 gross square feet of classA and classB office space to technology companies in the business of software development in information security. Their target market which is anchored by the Air Force Research Laboratory Rome, as well as the Griffiss Institute for Information Assurance, includes information technology companies, specifically companies that do business with AFRL, DOD, the Office of Homeland Security, and companies involved in preventing identity theft.

These federal funds will help to build a 20,000 to 25,000 gross square foot commercial office shell, including all exterior site work, exterior finishes, windows, roof, landscaping and enough interior systems and finishes to show the property to potential customers and reduce the development time and finance costs of customerdriven requirements (special finishes, power, HVAC, telecommunications, computer networks, security features, vaults, etc.). The shell will be marketed as a fasttrack office facility capable of being occupied within 3 months of a tenants lease commitment. The design will accommodate subdividing to meet demands for office sizes from less than 1,000 SF on up to the entire facility.

Late tonight, the SenateHouse Conference Committee included $200,000 for this project in the Transportation, Treasury, HUD spending bill. The bill will pass the full Senate and House before sending it to the President to become law.