Category Archives: Economical Development

By Jim Siplon

It is certainly not news to say that the last two years of COVID have reshaped our area economy and the work we do to support it. 

One of the often acknowledged aspects of the COVID era is the observation that the pandemic often exposed and accelerated shifts that were already underway but perhaps not yet fully understood. Our economy and its dynamic elements , things like an aging workforce and a lack of new housing, are perhaps the greatest example of this. Constructing the framework that will underpin the post-COVID economy requires us all to lean into this together-to understand and retool around the “Economy of Now.”

EDC Warren County has long been focused on the strategic work required to attracting, growing and retaining business for our community. Classically, this was a process built around enticing new business to locate here and utilize our workforce to run them. Our programs, incentives and resources were deployed primarily in ways designed to capture transitory or relocating business ventures. 

While that work continues, it is transitioning before our eyes to a model that flips the traditional approach on its head. We are now in a competition for workforce, and those areas that have it will attract and grow the most successful business and economic entities while those that do not will struggle to build a sustainable economy. 

This need for workforce is not new, in fact it has been building slowly in the demographics for years. Baby boomers are aging out, birth rates have declined and flight of our young has been going on for some time. But today this problem is not limited to the North Country or other less populated areas but is now almost universal. 

By Dennis Brobston

One of our beloved presidents, Abraham Lincoln, once said “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” That is our belief at Saratoga Economic Development Corp. (SEDC). 

Creating Saratoga County’s economic development future has been our mission for over 43 years of existence. Working with SEDC to create our economic future are many partners: Saratoga County and local governments, Saratoga County businesses large and small, our Industrial Development Agencies (IDAs), universities and colleges and our K-12 school districts, to name a few. Over the last decade, SEDC and our stakeholders helped to create over 1,700 new jobs with over $170 million in payroll while retaining over 2,050 existing jobs at Saratoga County companies.

The year 2021 was another strange year as we all continued to adapt thru the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Like 2020, we were thrust into uncharted waters for supporting our existing businesses in Saratoga County while marketing our region for new and exciting companies looking for fertile ground to grow their businesses. And like 2020, this past year of 2021 proved to be another banner year delivering over $110 million in new investment while creating 182 new jobs and over $11.5 million in payroll. 

Over the last two years, we have supported $232 million of investment creating over 629 jobs with over $38 million in new payroll while retaining 730 existing jobs. The years 2020 and 2021 are the first back-to-back years with more than $100 million investment in our 43-year history. We are thankful for all of the projects that allowed us to excel during this pandemic.

Promoting Saratoga County’s sites and buildings to site selectors across the country and throughout Europe will continue in 2022. Our efforts to create more product (pre-zoned sites and buildings) continue as we work with our municipalities eyeing this type of growth. “On spec” flex space is being built regularly in Saratoga County and the support of the Saratoga County IDA and the Town of Clifton Park IDA is vital to that continuing. 

The board of directors of EDC Warren County has made Jim Siplon its permanent president and CEO.

Siplon was serving as a member of the EDC board of directors last July, when longtime CEO  Edward M. Bartholomew died unexpectedly. He offered to step in as the organization’s interim leader, having recently retired as chief operating officer of JUST Water.

“Seven months ago, we recognized Jim as a colleague, strategist and advocate for economic growth. Since July, our board has seen firsthand how he energizes people, marshalls resources and catalyzes progress through public-private partnerships,’’ said Matthew Fuller, chair of the EDC board. “Our board concluded that we are fortunate to have in Jim Siplon a uniquely talented and insightful individual leading our economic development efforts at a moment of particular challenge and emerging opportunity.’’

Siplon said his immediate priorities will continue to be expanding reliable broadband and cell service countywide, attracting new residents and businesses, helping local governments obtain funding for major infrastructure projects, improving communication, expanding affordable housing, and helping local businesses recover from the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under his leadership, EDC has collaborated with the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism on research to assess interest among professionals in relocating to the Warren County Lake George area and the Adirondack region. He has also overseen updates to the EDC website, including a blog featuring success stories of investing and professional relocation. HE has led expansion of social media, including creating a Facebook page, an Instagram page and a LinkedIn page for improved communications and marketing.

Under the leadership of newly-appointed president Jim Siplon, the EDC Warren County continues to focus on attracting new business to the area.

Siplon, a former EDC board member, has firsthand experience with the process.

“The EDC was instrumental in helping me when I was trying to get JUST Water off the ground, particularly Ed Bartholomew, who was the longtime president,” he said. At the time, Siplon was chief operating officer of the water startup and was responsible for choosing the company’s headquarters.

“I’m not a spectator in this. I’m a player. I came here in 2014 to figure out if this was a good place to base JUST. I looked at a number of places across the country, and I had never seen the receptivity and kind of collaborative nature that I found here. Now I’m trying to tap into it in my new role of working on economic development for the entire region.”

Siplon took the helm of the EDC during the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. A top priority  was to offer support to the tourism industry, which accounts for 25 to 40 percent of the local economy.

“When COVID struck, we ran the risk of literally having the bottom dropping out of an enormous part of our economy,” he said. “Here in Warren County we immediately organized a group of private sector participants in the tourism and hospitality world to meet together with public sector players like the EDC and the county and municipalities to figure out what is that we can do that is both safe and can also potentially backstop this huge economic impact.”

By Susan E. Campbell
The Washington County Local Development Corp. (WCLDC) closed the year more quietly than in the recent past. But already in 2020, there are 10 new applications for loans in contrast to the five new loans that ultimately closed in 2019, according to Deanna Derway, president and executive director.
“Loans were made to a variety of different and unique companies, officially crossing the $18 million mark for total funding lent since the Corporation began in 1985,” said Derway, who has been with the WCLDC since mid-2008 and has headed it up since 2013. “That is a significant amount of funding across businesses in Washington County.”
January through March is the state reporting season for WCLDC, along with any other entity with public funding, and Derway has been busy with spreadsheets.
“Compared to the past four years, activity in 2019 was a little quieter,” she said. “We have nearly $700,000 to loan right now.”

By Rachel Phillips
Small business owners and hopeful entrepreneurs located in Glens Falls have the opportunity to win up to $40,000 to help fund their businesses.
The Retail and Small Business Development Competition will award a total of $280,000 in funding to the winners.
Current or aspiring business owners located within the Glens Falls Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) area have a chance to build or expand their businesses as part of the effort to encourage economic growth in the city.
The Greater Glens Falls Local Development Corporation (LDC) is heading the competition, and will be responsible for picking the winners out of the pool of applicants. The competition, based on other similar types of competitions that have seen success around the country, was the idea of city officials, including Mayor Daniel Hall.

By Christine Graf
For more than 30 years, Albany’s Center for Economic Growth(CEG) has been marketing the eight-county Capital Region as a great place for companies to do business.
CEG, a non-profit regional economic and business development organization, is the primary point of contact for businesses looking to expand or establish operations in Albany, Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Warren, or Washington counties. They receive funding from local businesses, government grants, and fee for service.
“The Capital Region has a population of over one million people, and that puts us in competitive league with other major cities throughout the country,” said President and CEO Andrew Kennedy. “That’s something that is important for businesses when they are considering their relocation efforts. We work to raise visibility of the general population, the strength of our economy, the health of our economy, and the opportunities we see with development sites.

By Susan E. Campbell
Washington County is on a trajectory for continued low unemployment and healthy economic growth in 2019. The Washington County Local Development Corp. will cross the $18 million mark in loans since the public entity began in 1985, officials said.
“Things are going well for us,” said Deanna Derway, WCLDC president and executive director. Since 2015, we’ve approved over $750,000 in loan funding each year and we continue to see an increase in loan applications presented to us annually.”