Gov. Hochul (center) attends announcement of new FAST NY funding in August 2025. (Photo: Empire State Development)By Anne Cosgrove
From the September / October 2025 Issue
Governor Kathy Hochul announced this summer that more than $51 million has been awarded to improve five locations under the Focused Attraction of Shovel-Ready Tracts New York grant program. FAST NY is designed to prepare and develop sites across the state to jumpstart New York’s shovel-readiness and increase its attractiveness to large employers and high-tech manufacturing companies. The program, administered by Empire State Development, helps to diversify New York State’s economy by supporting site improvements that encourage new investments to grow businesses and create jobs. Since its inception, FAST NY has awarded more than $283 million to 34 sites located throughout Upstate New York. Governor Hochul secured an additional $100 million in the FY26 Budget to expand the FAST NY program and build on its successes.
“Through FAST NY, we’re able to promote manufacturing and bring in good-paying jobs to communities throughout New York State,” Gov. Hochul said. “Companies like Micron, Edwards Vacuum, Chobani and fairlife want to come to New York because we have the hardest working individuals, and having shovel-ready sites makes New York State an international competitor for world-class companies to expand their operations here.”
Oneida County ($32.36 million): This infrastructure improvement project will allow for utility infrastructure work including roadway improvements, water, sewer, and gas capacity improvements, and general site work at the Triangle Site, located at Griffiss International Airport on the Griffiss Business & Technology Park Steven J. DiMeo Campus in the City of Rome. The grant will support utility extensions to the site perimeter for future connections, building on a previous FAST NY grant award with enhanced capacity and redundancy at both the original Triangle Site as well as the adjacent 160-acre Mohawk Glen parcel. These upgrades will allow the site to accommodate Chobani, as well as future development for another 160 shovel ready acres for further development.
Webster Community Coalition for Economic Development, Inc. ($9.8 million): This infrastructure improvement project will allow for road dedication needed for subdivision of the property, road reconstruction and extension, multimodal connections, sanitary sewer upgrades to extend capacity, and electrical master planning at the Northeast Area for Technology (NEAT) site in the Town of Webster, in Monroe County. These improvements will provide upgrades to the Xerox Campus and immediately surrounding properties. The project offers nearly 300 acres of developable property, in addition to more than one million square feet of industrial space, to be developed for advanced manufacturing. This project will maximize the potential and facilitate the transformation of this former brownfield property and enhance its attractiveness to key industries.
Oswego County Industrial Development Agency ($8.1 million): This infrastructure improvement project will allow for utility infrastructure work – including roadway improvements, water and sewer capacity improvements, power and gas capacity improvements, and telecommunications service extensions—at the L. Michael Treadwell Oswego County Industrial Park in the Town of Schroeppel.
The grant will support road extensions, construction of a new electrical substation and extension of associated power, and extension of all other utilities to the site. These improvements will provide 25 acres over four available sites, as well as 135 additional acres for development. Located eight miles from Micron, this will be a premier location for semiconductor supply chain businesses.
Broome County Industrial Development Agency ($500,000): This pre-development project expands the scope of work underway at the Broome Technology Park in the Town of Union and will advance utility design, easements and alignments, and transportation access. Work will also include a NYISO study, water and wastewater engineering, and design components for sustainability in energy, waste, and social aspects. The project will create a 600-acre sustainability-focused corporate park designed to attract a wide spectrum of advanced industries, including power electronics, energy storage, semiconductor supply chain companies, life sciences and agricultural processing. This site was previously awarded a $500,000 FAST NY grant, and the scope of this project goes beyond that of the previous award.
Greene County ($400,000): This pre-development project will allow for shovel-ready advancement of the Hudson River Commerce Park in the Town of Catskill, including a final GEIS and findings statement with priority on preliminary engineering studies. The project will expedite the site’s shovel-readiness and improve speed to market for regional advanced manufacturing projects. Studies will be prioritized to identify any red flags that would prevent future development of an initial conceptual site master plan, including water and wastewater, energy, wetlands, and transportation access. The site provides unique assets including proximity to the New York State Thruway, access to the Hudson River via a deep-water port, private rail siding and significant developable acreage.
Greater Rochester Is Making The Future
The Greater Rochester, NY region is a world leader in optics, photonics, imaging, and laser technologies. From medical diagnostics and semiconductors to satellites and sensor systems, all of these technologies are developed there. More than 150 companies are part of Greater Rochester’s optics, photonics, imaging, and laser industry cluster, employing 19,000 people.
Approximately 60% of all optics degrees conferred in the U.S. are conferred in Rochester. This astounding volume of degrees is fueled by the University of Rochester, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Monroe Community College, the first U.S. community college to offer an associate degree in optical systems technology. In addition, 20 local high schools offer optics programs.
Edwards Vacuum has located a $310 million manufacturing facility in the Greater Rochester, New York region at the STAMP mega site in Genesee County. (Photo: Greater Rochester Enterprise)
With an economic output of more than $3.5 billion annually, the Greater Rochester, NY region is a robust, sophisticated and highly integrated optics, photonics, imaging and laser supply chain in the nation that supports concept creation through commercialization.
The region provides the infrastructure to enable businesses, including polishing and grinding, rapid prototyping, testing, and metrology.
Rochester’s optics industry is diverse, including remote-sensing companies such as L3Harris, sophisticated supply-chain firms such as Corning, Thorlabs Lens Systems, Rochester Precision Optics, Optimax Systems, IDEX Health and Science, and smaller ventures such as Lumetrics, and VisualDx. The region’s status as a research and manufacturing hub is supported by the University of Rochester’s Institute of Optics, the Laboratory for Laser Energetics and Rochester’s Institute of Technology’s Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science and Lobozzo Photonics and Optical Characterization Lab.
The new advanced energy solutions test center in Henrietta, NY, to support The Raymond Corporation and Toyota Material Handling North America is officially open.
Raymond also announced plans to deepen its commitment to the Greater Rochester region by investing in a facility in Honeoye Falls, NY for testing and validating fuel cell systems for its products.
These next-generation energy applications for the lift truck industry focus on increased productivity and efficiency, designed to provide both ecological and economic benefits. Combined, these projects represent an investment of $4 million and the creation of 60 new jobs in the Greater Rochester, NY region.
“The Raymond Corporation and Toyota Material Handling North America continue to expand in the Greater Rochester, NY region because this community has world-class R&D resources, a talented workforce, and an integrated ecosystem that is optimal for developing the company’s cutting-edge fuel cell technology,” said Matt Hurlbutt, President and CEO, Greater Rochester Enterprise.
And, Edwards, a global leader in vacuum and abatement solutions and a key supplier to the semiconductor industry, is expanding its operations in the Greater Rochester, NY region with a significant investment of $319 million at the Science, Technology, and Advanced Manufacturing Park (STAMP) mega site in Genesee County, NY. The new dry pump facility, which supports up to 600 jobs, is strategically located near customers, green energy sources, and local colleges and universities.