GRIFFISS PARK

The key to the growth of the Mohawk Valley's economy I believe is in the expansion of the Griffiss Business & Technology Park.

 

Across the country, business parks are a growing commodity that consolidate local workforces into a defined area that offers office, retail, and industrial labor companies to a more ecological environment with the advent of buildings in a greenspace. 

 

Our own Griffiss Park is a 3,500 acre campus that hosts only about 6,000 jobs in the 200 plus businesses that are based there. Citing the obvious that major expansion is not only possible, but necessary to secure the business park as a leader in career opportunities. 

 

With the former Griffiss Air Force Base runway that is more than 2 miles long, it is accessible to land any sized airplane, including the Boeing 747 and the US Space Shuttle. This is a feature that must be capitalized on. 

 

As the local workforce is primarily blue collar, it is my suggestion that more factory type companies be solicited for expansion into Griffiss Park. These positions would be in the areas of warehousing, distribution, factory production, and auto and aircraft manufacturing. 

 

With a 3,500 acre campus, the potential for massive job growth is prevalent. With the size of the park, it could host as many as 35,000 jobs and become home to over 1,000 companies; both small businesses and corporations. 

 

With a compliment of that size, the business park will contribute over $1.5 B into the local economy. The creation of 30,000 new jobs will cause a positive economic domino effect as labor statistics report that for every 1 job created in a community creates another 1.3 jobs within that community. 

 

This is the key to the growth of the Mohawk Valley.