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Breaking News
Westchester Named in "Top Cities"
List
Technically it's not even a city, but Westchester
County still made it into the list of "Top 25 Cities for
Business" in this month's Inc. magazine. The national
publication ranks Westchester as #17 in the list of
medium-sized cities "where businesses are adding jobs most
rapidly and many people are moving in search of new lives,
creating tremendous opportunities for entrepreneurs." Only
Syracuse, N.Y., and Monmouth-Ocean counties in N.J. ranked
higher on the list in the Northeast. The magazine selected
areas where "job growth is robust and economies are strong."
The premise behind the Top Cities rankings is that job growth
is the most objective indicator of a region's economic
vitality for entrepreneurs. Because more than three-quarters
of all new jobs are created by small business, a region
showing strong job growth is also most likely a hotbed of
entrepreneurship. For the complete article, visit http://www.inc.com/.
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Feature Story
2004 Westchester Office Market Has Many
Suitors
The new
year has opened with several prestigous corporations looking
to relocate or expand in Westchester. The Westchester office
vacancy rate for 2003 was a historic 12.89% - the lowest since
2000. Published news reports have identified two Westchester
HQ corporations looking for space: Dannon USA and Lillian
Vernon. Nokia, the Finnish telecommunications company, is also
seeking a site for its Enterprise Solutions Division.
Westchester County is working closely with all these
companies. This activity is a strong start to 2004 despite the
recent news that the Rye Brook-based Altria Group would be
vacating its Westchester Avenue offices. The recent
relocations of Morgan Stanley to the former Texaco
headquarters building and New York Life to the former IBM/Mt.
Pleasant offices have shown that larger properties are still
attractive at a time when corporations are seeking to separate
their operations.
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Business Feature Story
Progenics Pharmaceuticals Expands Reserach Labs
Progenics
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will be more than doubling its lab space
at the Landmark at Eastview - expanding from 38,000 to 80,000
square feet. The company, a Tarrytown-based biopharmaceutical
firm, is seeking to develop products to treat life threatening
and debilitating diseases such as AIDS. In September of 2003,
the firm was awarded a $28.6 million contract to do
pre-clinical research for a HIV-AIDS vaccine. Annual revenues
for 2002 were $7.8 million. Biotechnology is an important part
of Westchester’s economy - employing over 8,000 people.
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International Trade Story
Videoconference Engineers
Ties to Italy
In early
February, three local engineering firms “consulted” with
officials from Lombardia in northern Italy about water
pollution problems in the Seveso River. The videoconference
was sponsored by Westchester County and the Italian Center for
Commercial Affairs. The conference included a presentation on
watershed planning by Jerry Mulligan, the county’s planning
commissioner. Robert Schneider, VP of Malcolm Pirnie, said the
conference was “an opportunity to open up new lines of
communication.”
The county held a similar
videoconference in November when local IT companies looking
for additional business opportunities were linked up with
Italian officials from a suburb of Venice. The
videoconferences are among several projects to come out of
County Executive Andy Spano’s visit to northern Italy in May
of 2003. Other plans include an Italian Cultural and Business
Center in Westchester and a trade fair for Italian
manufacturers. For additional information please contact Enzo
Pizzimenti, CEO of the Italian Center for Commercial Affairs
(ICCA) at 914-939-6984. |
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Valuable Service for Westchester
Businesses
Small Business Administration Expands Services and
Loans
The U.S.
Small Business Administration (SBA) offers expanded services
such as new loan programs and access to government procurement
contracts to small business and start-ups. Guaranteed loan
programs offer up to $2 million with loan proceeds applicable
for working capital, inventory, equipment purchases,
furniture, renovations and construction. The SBA Express Loan
goes up to $250,000 with a turnaround time of 36 hours.
Start-ups can receive free counseling on business and
financial planning and operations. For details contact Martha
Soffer at 212-264-2734 or access http://www.sba.gov/. |
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