University of Rochester President Joel Seligman and Wegmans Food Markets CEO Danny Wegman, co-chairs of the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council, issued the following statement in response the 2012 Regional Economic Development Council Awards, which were announced earlier today.
Today in Albany, Governor Andrew Cuomo, Lt. Governor Bob Duffy, and legislative leaders announced $96.2 million in economic development support for the nine-county Finger Lakes region. These funds represent a crucial investment in our plans to create 50,000 new jobs in the region over the next five years. We take particular pride in the fact that the state singled out our region's strategic plan for recognition.
Thanks to the Governor's leadership and his new vision for economic development, we have been able to galvanize the nine counties that comprise the Finger Lakes region to successfully develop a shared roadmap for our economic future. With the active participation of more than 200 regional stakeholders and the input of hundreds others, our region has created a strong blueprint for economic growth.
We are proud of what we have achieved to date. The Finger Lakes region continues to outperform the rest of the state and much of the country in job growth.
With this new state support, we will now be able to move forward with projects that will accelerate the development and commercialization of new technologies, help small businesses grow and prosper, train our workforce for the jobs of the future, revitalize key industrial development sites, and strengthen our communities and quality of life. Projects such as efforts to preserve and strengthen Eastman Business Park, the University of Rochester's Center Health Sciences Center for Computational Innovation, RIT's Golisano Institute of Sustainability, the Pathstone Finger Lakes Enterprise Fund, Midtown Tower, College Town, the STAMP project, the Multiple Pathways to Middle Skills Jobs initiative, Seneca Ag-Bio Green Energy Park, and the Finger Lakes Business Accelerator will maximize growth potential and help the region realize its economic development goals.
We are deeply grateful to the Governor and Lt. Governor for their support and recognition. We also understand our efforts have only just begun and look forward to continuing to work with the state to build a new economic future for our region.