Page 54 - 2020 Westchester Economic Development Guide

A New Vision
WESTCHESTER COUNTY
OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Here For You
Support. Guidance. Tax Incentives. Whether you’re looking to start, relocate or expand your business, Westchester’s got what you need.
WESTCHESTER COUNTY OFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (OED) www.westchestercatalyst.com
Office of Economic Director Bridget Gibbons discusses the role of the OED in supporting Westchester’s business community and overall economy.
Westchester Office of Economic Development Director Bridget Gibbons
Talk about the mission of the OED.
The Westchester OED attracts and retains businesses and talent. We of- fer business resources and finan- cial assistance through our Industrial Development Agency (IDA), the Local Development Corporation (LDC) and a range of related services and incentives.
How is the County supporting the needs of business owners?
This year, we launched a new Dinner and Dialogue series, where the County Executive has met with leaders of midsized businesses (50 to 500 em- ployees) to discuss issues relevant to them. Our January series, for example, focused on the hospitality and tourism industry. The County Executive is super
effective at engaging with people, and the business leaders who have attend- ed have only offered positive feedback.
What kind of year did the Westchester County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) have in 2019?
It was an incredible year, with so many great projects. We supported mostly mixed-use residential properties in transit-oriented developments across the County. There were over 10 proj- ects totaling about $1.6 billion dollars in private investment, for projects in White Plains, Harrison, Pelham and other locations. These developments are in higher demand now, as young people are looking to leave Brooklyn and Manhattan. We also assisted in BioMed Realty’s renovation and expan- sion of the Ardsley Park Life Sciences Campus in Greenburgh.
Tell us more about the Westchester County Biosciences Accelerator.
The Westchester County Bioscience Accelerator program is a new, com- petitive entry, six-month long program designed to provide entrepreneurship education and regional networking to seed-stage ventures. The program is designed to help these ventures build their teams and secure funds. We are thrilled to have launched this program in Westchester, as growing our biosci- ences sector has been a priority for a number of years.
Six innovators with therapeutics, diagnostics, devices, research tools, digital health and materials technol- ogy breakthroughs were invited after a competitive application process. The 2020 participants include Farzaneh and Mousa Ahmadi of Nagoya University in Japan, Bina Bansinath of Columbia University, Jeannette Mahoney of Albert
Einstein College of Medicine, Parsa Mirhaji of Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and independent innovators Katya Sverdlov and Russell Joye.
What’s the best way to seek assistance to support your business? It’s easy! Call me at 914-995-2900 and we can discuss how we and our part- ners can help you.
OTHER ENTITIES
THE COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY www.westchesterida.com
Created to promote and encourage economic development in the County, The IDA is a public benefit corpora- tion laser-focused on helping to create and retain high-quality jobs, by offering mortgage recording tax exemptions, sales tax exemptions and taxable or tax-exempt bonds.
Annually, the IDA supports projects which account for hundreds of mil- lions of dollars in private investment in housing, biotech, mixed use develop- ment, historic building renovation and hospitality, as well as renovation and reconstruction.
THE WESTCHESTER COUNTY LOCAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (LDC) www.westchesterldc.com
Provides low-cost, tax-exempt bond financing for non-profit organizations. Since its creation in 2014, it has:
• Provided more than $800 million in tax exempt financing to hospitals, schools, nursing homes, libraries and social service agencies.
• Helped to renovate critical infra- structure expansion for non-profits, which has created more than 1,500 permanent and construction jobs.
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WESTCHESTER COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE