Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 12, March 20, 2024
(a) Eligible
applicants shall include, but not be limited to, business improvement
districts, local development corporations, economic development organizations,
for profit businesses, not-for-profit corporations, public benefit
corporations, municipalities, counties, research and academic institutions,
incubators, technology parks, private firms, regional planning councils,
tourist attractions and community facilities.
(b) The corporation shall be eligible for
assistance in the form of loans, grants, or monies contributing to projects for
which the corporation or a subsidiary act as developer.
(1) The corporation may act as developer in
the acquisition, renovation, construction, leasing or sale of development
projects authorized pursuant to this program in order to stimulate private
sector investment within the affected community.
(2) In acting as a developer, the corporation
may borrow for purposes of this subdivision for approved projects in which the
lender's recourse is solely to the assets of the project, and may make such
arrangements and agreements with community-based organizations and local
development corporations as may be required to carry out the purposes of this
section.
(3) Prior to developing
any such project, the corporation shall secure a firm commitment from entities,
independent of the corporation, for the purchase or lease of such project. Such
firm commitment shall be evidenced by a memorandum of understanding or other
document describing the intent of the parties.
(4) Projects authorized under this
subdivision whether developed by the corporation or a private developer, must
be located in distressed communities, for which there is demonstrated demand
within the particular community.
(c) Program assistance is available for the
following funding tracks:
(1) Business
investment. Business investments are capital expenditures that facilitate an
employer's ability to create new jobs in New York State or retain jobs that are
otherwise in jeopardy. Such jobs otherwise in jeopardy include, but are not
limited to, jobs in danger of being eliminated, having hours and/or wages
reduced or relocated outside of New York State. Within the business investment
track, five-year job commitments will be required of all beneficiaries; it is
by underwriting these job commitments that ESDC is best able to forecast the
economic benefits of providing assistance to any particular project. Applicants
will therefore be required to commit to the number of jobs at risk that will be
retained by the proposed project, the number of new jobs that will be created
by the project, and the average salaries of each. Failure to achieve or
maintain these employment commitments will subject a beneficiary to potential
recapture of assistance.
(2)
Infrastructure investment. The funds will finance infrastructure investments in
order to attract new businesses and expand existing businesses, thereby
fostering further investment. Infrastructure investments are capital
expenditures for infrastructure including transportation, water and sewer,
communication, and energy generation and distribution. Infrastructure also
includes the construction of parking garages. Unlike the other two tracks,
infrastructure investment may be used to finance planning or feasibility
studies relating to capital expenditures. The infrastructure investment track
is appropriate only for infrastructure activity for unidentified end-users or
for multiple users; infrastructure projects that will serve a single identified
entity must apply for assistance under the business investment track, which may
be used to fund infrastructure expenses. Although projects without identified
users may be funded under the infrastructure investment track, preference under
this track will be given to projects with identified tenants.
(i) Job commitments: infrastructure
investment projects that are able to provide job commitments will be viewed
favorably. However, it is important to note that:
(a) few infrastructure investment projects
are anticipated to be able to provide job commitments; and
(b) if the employer will be an entity other
than the applicant, a third party guarantee of the applicant's job commitment
must be provided by the prospective employer and that prospective employer must
be found by ESDC to be creditworthy.
(3) Downtown redevelopment. Downtown
neighborhoods - whether major commercial areas of big cities or one block
stretches of village main streets - are important generators of economic
activity in New York State. In an effort to strengthen these cores of commerce,
the downtown redevelopment track will finance rehabilitation and new
construction in downtown areas statewide. Funding will be available for a range
of commercial uses, including retail, office and commercial. Funding will also
be available for projects that are likely to increase tourism, including
hotels, cultural institutions and entertainment facilities, and streetscape
improvements. This track will not be used to finance speculative development,
and therefore only projects in which 60 percent of the square footage has been
pre-leased generally will be considered.
(i)
Job commitments: downtown redevelopment projects that are able to provide job
commitments will be viewed favorably. However, it is important to note that:
(a) few downtown redevelopment projects are
anticipated to be able to provide job commitments; and
(b) if the employer will be an entity other
than the applicant, a third party guarantee of the applicant's job commitment
must be provided by the prospective employer and that prospective employer must
be found by ESDC to be creditworthy.
(d) No full-time employee of the State or
full-time employee of any agency, department, authority or public benefit
corporation (or any subsidiary of a public benefit corporation) of the State
shall be eligible to receive assistance under this initiative, nor shall any
business, the majority ownership interest of which is beneficially controlled
by any such employee, be eligible for assistance under this
initiative.