Table of Contents List of Council Members Message from the Co-Chairs 1. Executive Summary United for Success 2. Progress State of the Region Status of Past Priority Project Progress Priority Project Progress Summary of All Past Priority Projects Leverage of State Investment in All Past Priority Projects Status of All Projects Awarded CFA Funding Aggregated Status of All CFA Projects Leverage of State Investment in All CFA Projects Job Creation Upstate Revitalization Initiative (URI) Update Mapped Status of Past Priority/URI Projects 3. Implementation Agenda Implementation of 2017 State & Regional Priorities Workforce Development Pathways to Prosperity Higher Education, Research, & Healthcare Life Sciences Optics, Photonics, & Imaging Agriculture & Food Production Next Generation Manufacturing & Technology Eastman Business Park Science & Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park (STAMP) Downtown Innovation Zone Entrepreneurship & Development Global NY Tourism & Arts Infrastructure & Transportation Sustainability Proposed Priority Projects Overall Investment Ratio for Proposed Priority Projects Proposed Priority Projects Relating to State Priorities Map of Proposed Priority Projects Additional Priority Projects 4. Participation Community Engagement & Public Support Interregional Collaboration Work Team Descriptions & Membership Lists Downtown Revitalization Initiative List of Council Members Co- Anne Kress President Monroe Community College Chair Co- Bob Duffy President & CEO Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce Chair Ginny Clark Sr. VP of Public Affairs Constellation Brands, Inc. Matt Cole Vice President Commodity Resource Corp. Paul Fortin Plant Controller Precision Packaging Products Steve Griffin CEO Finger Lakes Economic Development Center / Yates County Industrial Development Agency Matt Hurlbutt President & CEO Greater Rochester Enterprise Steve Hyde President & CEO Genesee County Economic Development Center Tony Jackson President Panther Graphics David Mansfield President & Owner Three Brothers Winery & Estates Theresa Mazzullo CEO Excell Partners, Inc. Augustin Melendez President Hillside Work Scholarship David Munson President Rochester Institute of Technology John Noble CEO Synergy, LLC Wade Norwood Chief Strategy Officer Common Ground Health Peter Robinson VP of Government & University of Rochester Community Relations Hilda Rosario President and CEO Ibero American Action League Escher Victor Sanchez Co-Chair RocCity Coalition Jaime Saunders President & CEO United Way of Greater Rochester Bill Strassburg VP of Strategic Planning Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. Erin Tolefree Executive VP Baldwin Richardson Foods David Young, Jr. President Rochester Building and Construction Trades Council Ex-Officio Joseph Morelle Majority Leader NYS Assembly, 132nd. District Joseph Robach Senator NYS Senate, 56th District Robert Bausch Chairman Genesee County Legislature A. Berwanger Chairman of the Board County of Wyoming Douglas Cheryl Dinolfo County Executive County of Monroe Eugene Jankowski City Council President City of Batavia Lynne Johnson Chairman Orleans County Legislature David LeFeber Chairman Livingston County Board of Supervisors Steve Leroy Chairman of the Wayne County Wayne County Board of Supervisors Jack Marren Chairman, Ontario County Ontario County Board of Supervisors Douglas Paddock Chairman Yates County Legislature Robert Shipley Chairman of the Board of Seneca county Supervisors Jon C. Verkey Supervisor Town of Arcadia (Chuck) Lovely Warren Mayor City of Rochester Message from the Co-Chairs Looking back in history, a transformational moment for our region and all of New York State happened when Governor Cuomo created the ten Regional Economic Development Councils. The concept focuses on collaboration among regions to identify key priority economic development projects. The Finger Lakes region has benefitted immensely not only through state investment in our priority projects, but also by the teamwork that the regional council model has fostered. The process is truly a ground-up approach and we have fulfilled our mission and vision from the start and we are very proud of what we have seen. Our partners and work groups are moving the Finger Lakes forward each day, week, and month. The Downtown Revitalization Initiative has pumped $10 million each into the cities of Geneva, Batavia. Local leaders in these cities have done an outstanding job putting that funding to work in creating exciting, thriving downtowns. Speaking of the importance of thriving downtowns, we also want to thank Governor Cuomo for his $50 million pledge for ROC the Riverway, which aims to transform downtown Rochester as well as the city’s entire Genesee River corridor. The ROC The Riverway board submitted its recommendations based upon collaboration and input from a wide and diverse group of stakeholders. Our board members reached out to communities that in the past may have been overlooked, assuring that their ideas and voices were heard. We have participated in a number of development initiatives throughout our careers, but we must say that co-chairing the ROC the Riverway board is one of our most rewarding experiences. The initial $50 million state investment promises to generate a significant private investment to carry ROC the Riverway well into the future. It is not about building the downtown Rochester of today. It is about building the downtown Rochester of tomorrow for our children and our grandchildren. In the end, we truly believe that the ROC the Riverway projects that we have put forth will truly have a transformational impact for decades to come. Much as our local community came together for ROC the Riverway, the Finger Lakes and Western New York regions came together with a strong proposal to attract Amazon’s HQ2. Although Amazon did not select our regions as finalists, the collaborative effort had a positive impact: we clearly articulated the many strengths and created a greater spirit of teamwork across our two regions. Based upon the number of projects we are now competing to bring here, there is no doubt that the Finger Lakes region is now top of mind for many site selectors and economic development professionals across the country because of our Amazon HQ2 efforts. One example of the post-HQ2 effect is a great win for our region in recruiting LiveTiles to Rochester. Based in Australia and with offices in Europe, New York City, and Silicon Valley, LiveTiles is perhaps the top artificial intelligence company in the world. The company recently opened its North American Intelligent User Experience Hub in Rochester’s High Falls district, with plans to create at least 500 jobs over five years. LiveTiles has unlimited potential and a who’s who of clients and customers. It had the choice to locate its new office anywhere and chose Rochester because of the incredible depth of tech talent we have here, our excellent higher education institutions, affordability, and quality of life. LiveTiles CEO Karl Redenbach gave a passionate speech at an event announcing the company’s move to Rochester. If we can get even more people to recognize our strengths with Karl’s passion, we can move the Finger Lakes forward at an even more rapid pace. Another win is the opening of AIM Photonics in Rochester. Because of the tools, technology, and expertise coming to our area in this cutting-edge venture, we expect other tech companies and jobs to follow. An example of this has already happened. ON Semiconductor recently expanded operations in the same building as AIM Photonics at Eastman Business Park. ON had a number of choices when considering expansion and picked Rochester over other sites across the country and around the world. This is another testament to our region’s assets and the work of our strong economic development professionals. All across our region, in every way, the Finger Lakes is moving forward. Businesses are growing: CoverWallet, Datto, IEC Electronics, OFD Foods, O-AT-KA Milk Products, North American Breweries, Optimax, TOPTICA Photonics, and Paychex have all located or expanded in our region in the past year, building on the momentum in every FLX Forward priority industry sector. Innovation is happening: the REMADE Institute at RIT, UR-Harris Data Science Institute, NextCorps business incubator, and Luminate Accelerate Challenge are sparking entrepreneurship and research to keep our region’s history of invention alive in the 21st Century. Communities are thriving: Pathstone and Eastman Business Park are building a new live/work/play development where there were once empty parking lots; the reimagined Sibley Building in downtown Rochester is now home to seniors in affordable housing and young professional modern condos; and former bank and department store buildings in Batavia are finding new life as retail and office space that will soon be home to a business incubator and cidery. Neighbors are finding pathways to prosperity: FLCC’s new CNA to LPN program with Rochester Regional Hospital is connecting residents to economic security, and LadderzUp—MCC’s collaboration with Monroe County and Imagine Monroe—has trained over 300 individuals in optics/photonics, medicine, advanced manufacturing so that they and their employers advance. And, the world is discovering what makes our region so special: the Strong Museum of Play is expanding to bring even more visitors to one of the state’s top destinations, and thriving Geneva has created a welcome center that is Instagram-worthy and serves as a gateway to our region. Finger Lakes Forward