A former General Electric site in Fort Edward is receiving nearly $5 million for sewer and water infrastructure upgrades, as officials hope the site can attract new industry.
The Warren Washington Industrial Development Agency was awarded a $4.7 million state grant last month to construct a sewer system and improve water infrastructure at the Canalside Energy Park in Fort Edward. The funding is part of an effort to make sites in New York “shovel-ready” for large employers.
The money to redevelop the site comes the after the Fort Edward facility was closed in 2016. Buildings were dismantled and toxic PCB contamination was removed.
In 2015, GE wrapped up its dredging work to remove PCBs from a 40-mile stretch of the upper Hudson, linked to the Fort Edward facility and a former location in nearby Hudson Falls. The Energy Park was used as a "dewatering facility" used to process contaminated sediment removed from the Hudson River.
Warren Washington IDA Chairman Dave O’Brien says the grant is one step in a long line of progress, which started nearly 15 years ago when GE transferred the land to a local property developer.
“They turned it over to the Fort Edward Local Property Development Corporation because they needed to find a vehicle to get federal funds in there," said O'Brien. "Unfortunately, when they did it, they didn’t have experienced players to play the game of how to develop the site, how to get the grants, how to get the funding in that. Essentially, in 2022 – late 2021 early 2022 – the IDA took the property over.”
O’Brien says this new round of funding will enable the IDA to finish construction on a sewage system for the park.
“And that’s the last piece we really need to put in place to make it so that it is completely shovel-ready." O'Brien continued, "it’s not the fact that there was a sewer there, the fact was it was taking too long to get the sewer in there. So, we’re very fortunate to have this FAST New York program come through, and we’re very fortunate that Empire State Development, in working with the Governor’s office, selected us for the $4.7 million.”
Over the last decade, the surrounding area has lost more than a thousand manufacturing jobs with multiple factories closing.
Lake Champlain-Lake George Regional Planning Board Director Beth Gilles says the Canalside park is key to the region’s future economic success.
“A lot of manufacturers have left the region, I think that there’s opportunities at the Energy Park to bring in new and maybe some more innovative types of manufacturing," said Gilles. "So, having the water and waste-water infrastructure in place is going to make it a lot easier for the IDA to attract businesses.”
Warren County Director of Economic Development Laura Oswald says while no companies have moved in yet, developers want to make sure that whoever ends up on the land is aligned with the values of the local community.
“There’s been, you know, a variety of industries all the way from food services to plastic pipe manufacturing to other types of companies," explained Oswald. "The industry that is growing in New York state is green energy right now so, you know, this is a substantially large site for the entire Capital Region. So, being able to work and partner with some of the green energy expansion that’s happening is a real possibility.”
Oswald highlighted the importance of the FAST NY grant, saying the 80-acre plot has experienced years of delays due to legal issues over ownership and community input.
“Wastewater, interior roads etc all remained an issue. So, those infrastructure issues take potentially years to design develop and construct," said Oswald. "So, when you’ve got a company that’s looking to make a decision now and start construction shortly, when you tell them that it’s going to be a few years before you can get infrastructure there that makes the site very non-competitive. But the whole purpose of the FAST funding was to create shovel-ready sites.”
Elsewhere, an $83 million project to build new transmission lines and substations for the Port of Coeymans is receiving $17 million under the FAST NY program and $2 million is going to create a new water district for the iPark 87 facility in Dutchess County.
