Binghamton is capitalizing on innovation, location, and quality of life to build a strong, diverse economy

Greater Binghamton is capitalizing on its strategic location, its history of innovation, and its high quality of life to build a strong and diverse regional economy for the 21st century. Binghamton is located along the critical I-81 gateway between Syracuse and Scranton. We are an easy three hours northwest of the Boston-Washington metroplex in the U.S. and less than five hours from the Toronto-Montreal corridor in Canada. Binghamton is an affordable haven for high technology. We rank-along with San Jose, Cambridge, and Austin-among the strongest areas for innovation in the U.S. We have company clusters in aerospace, software, advanced manufacturing, communications, simulation and distribution. We are home to household name companies like Lockheed Martin, Gannett, IBM, Frito Lay, L-3 Communications, Endicott Interconnect and BAE Systems along with a range of smaller firms who like our combination of work and play. Impress USA, a metal can manufacturer based in Pittsburgh, is near completion of a more than $30 million, 90,000 s/f state-of-the-art facility in the Broome Corporate Park in Conklin. This project builds on our long history of excellence in advanced manufacturing in an era of intense global competition. The plant will be LEED-Certified, have no impact on the local landfill, and will open in the fall of 2010. Impress USA has plans to expand and employ more than 160 people over the next five years. VMR Electronics, a Greater Binghamton based maker of electronic cables and wire harnesses for the defense business, is among the fastest growing companies in Upstate New York. The company consolidated its operations into the former Ascendia building, a 160,000 s/f facility in downtown Binghamton. VMR is making a $4.5 million investment including new equipment and plans to create more than 50 jobs in the coming years. The Charles St. Business Park in Binghamton, a partnership among Empire State Development, the city of Binghamton, and the Broome County IDA, is one of the premier business parks in the northeast. The 32 acre site, a former brownfield, is now home to Emerson Network Power's 40,000 s/f Binghamton headquarters. People from all over the world visit Emerson to learn about the latest technologies that protect and support business critical systems. The Charles St. Park is in a Federal HUBZone creating many potential advantages for businesses that locate there. Sites are available. Please contact us or visit www.bcida.com for more information. Washington Development Associates will soon begin construction on College Suites of Binghamton, a $20 million state-of-the-art student living facility near Confluence Park in the city of Binghamton. The project involves redevelopment of a brownfield and is anticipated to have a significant economic impact on Binghamton. In preparation for the project, NYSEG, our regional utility, is engaged in a $7 million cleanup of the site. United Health Services, one of the major health care providers in our region, announced recently it will construct a state-of-the-art medical practice on the Vestal Parkway in Greater Binghamton. This facility will be located across the Parkway from Binghamton University and include primary care physician offices, a walk-in center, X-ray and other imaging services, and a retail pharmacy for patients. Many regional companies enjoy a strong partnership with Binghamton University, a premier global public institution ranked by Kiplinger's Personal Finance as one of the best values in public colleges anywhere. The university features stellar academics, amazing research, and a strong international focus. In Binghamton, we like to brag about our quality of life. It means excellent schools, an opera and a symphony, strong minor league baseball and hockey, Division I athletics, and a fast-growing arts scene. According to U.S. News and World Report, Binghamton is among the most affordable places to retire in the U.S. Binghamton's superb transportation system makes it possible to get to the Adirondacks, the Poconos, and the tremendous fly-fishing along the Delaware River in a matter of hours. We have some of the best golf courses in the northeast. And if you like winery tours and tastings we are a short distance from the Finger Lakes, one of the Wine Spectator's emerging wine regions in the world. For more on business in Binghamton, visit the BCIDA's website, www.bcida.com which includes a searchable property database, an interactive profile of the region, and a link to our incentives and programs. Patrick Doyle is the director, business development at Broome County IDA, Binghamton, N.Y.