STAMP called ‘transformative’ for Orleans and WNY

Photos by Tom Rivers – Mark Peterson, president and CEO of the Greater Rochester Enterprise, says the STAMP project in the town of Alabama will be a tremendous economic boost to the region. Peterson and economic development officials in Buffalo, Rochester and Genesee County addressed the Orleans County Legislature about the project on Wednesday. Orleans County Legislator Fred Miller is at left.

ALBION – Economic development leaders from Buffalo, Rochester and Genesee County were in Orleans County on Wednesday, united in their push for a project in the town of Alabama.

Although STAMP (Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park) is outside Orleans County, the project will be offer huge benefits for Orleans communities and the region, county legislators were told.

“This is real,” said Mark Peterson, president and CEO of the Greater Rochester Enterprise. “This will really be a transformative time in our community’s history and you’re all going to a be a part of it.”

The STAMP project is about 1 mile south of the Orleans County border. STAMP is south of Lewiston Road at Route 77. The 1,250-acre site will accommodate nanotechnology companies including semiconductor 450mm chip fab, flat panel display, solar manufacturing, and advanced manufacturing.

Supply companies and other businesses are expected to set up within an hour of the site. The Medina Business Park, for example, could see new businesses because of STAMP, said Steve Hyde, Genesee County Economic Development Center president and CEO.

The state has committed $33 million in the new state budget to the infrastructure of the park. That has the attention of prospective companies that the state is committing significant resources to the project.

“It’s very, very real,” Peterson told county officials. “This site is very much in play on a world-wide stage.”

The site is attractive for companies because of it’s large size, proximity to the Thruway (only 5 miles from Pembroke), access to talent from universities in Buffalo and Rochester, and the presence of major utilities, including low-cost hydropower, Hyde said.

Steve Hyde, president and CEO of the Genesee County Economic Development Center, touts the benefits of the STAMP project for Orleans County.

The site, in full build-out, is expected to employ 10,000 people with many making $100,000 or more. Another 50,000 jobs will be created in the region to support the companies at STAMP.

Hyde said he expects at least 800 to 1,000 people to work at STAMP from Orleans County, and perhaps 4,000 to 5,000 more through construction and supply-chain jobs.

Ray Cianfrini, chairman of the Genesee County Legislature, said STAMP has been nine years in the making, but will become a reality with so much support from the region and state.

“It’s not a question of whether it will happen, it’s when it will happen,” he said. He impact will be “transformational” with Orleans County reaping many of the positives.

“You are our neighbor,” Cianfrini told the county legislators. “You, Orleans County, will certainly benefit tremendously from this.”

Orleans should see more demand in its real estate, more business for its shops, and more revenue for some of its municipal services, particularly the Medina sewer plant, Hyde said. STAMP companies are expected to use 1 million gallons of sewer from Medina initially and could use 11 million gallons at full build-out, Hyde said.

Hyde said Medina will be an important partner for the sewer services, and other local governments will be needed to support having sewer and other utility infrastructure run to the site in Alabama.

“We will need pipes and pumps to get the waste water to Medina,” Hyde said. “We need regional infrastructure to support it or else it won’t happen.”

David Callard, the Orleans County Legislature chairman, said the county supports the project and is excited about the potential.

“Your success is our success and everyone’s success,” Callard said.