PLATTSBURGH — The company that wants to build a transit-bus assembly plant in the Banker Road Industrial Park would like to be operational early next year.
Speaking at a Plattsburgh Town Council public hearing about rezoning property for that use, The Development Corporation President Adoré Flynn Kurtz said the company wants to utilize the assembly plant by Jan. 5, 2009.
CONSTRUCTION PLANS
The company is believed to be Nova Bus, a subsidiary of Volvo Bus Corp.
The Nova Bus Web site calls the company one of the largest manufacturers of city, suburban and shuttle buses in North America.
Multiple bids for construction of the 140,000-square-foot assembly plant were submitted Feb. 1.
Kurtz said The Development Corporation submitted a proposal to build the plant in partnership with Murnane Building Contractors and Luck Brothers. She would not reveal the projected construction cost but did say it was in excess of $20 million.
ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN
The plan calls for a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified building.
A program of the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED certification requires an independent third party to certify the building project is environmentally responsible, profitable and a healthy place to work.
Kurtz said she has talked with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to seek state support for the LEED design.
The bus company would lease the property from The Development Corporation or whichever developer is awarded the construction project.
JOBS, PAY PROSPECTS
The company has provided state officials with projections of 216 jobs by 2010 and up to 300 jobs by 2012, Kurtz said.
Entry-level jobs are expected to pay between $12 and $18 an hour.
“They have told us their employees are the key to their success and to the quality of the buses they build,” she said.
The company will work with Multina’s Plattsburgh facility, Kurtz said. That company supplies the firm with bus seats in Canada and will do so here, she said.
The company intends to take a 25-to-30-acre parcel of land north of the UPS building; the lot reaches to Route 374, Kurtz said.
TRAFFIC STUDY
An update to The Development Corporation’s 2004 traffic study for the Industrial Park is under way, and the first part shows there would be less traffic with the bus assembly plant than if multiple facilities were built on the property.
The second part of the study is yet incomplete; it will examine traffic impacts on the major intersections in the surrounding area.
The public hearing was held to proceed toward rezoning a 9.4-acre parcel of land, which The Development Corporation has agreed to purchase from Edith and Walter Banker, from Neighborhood Commercial to Industrial Park. That parcel would then be merged with the Banker Road Industrial Park.
PLANNING OK NEEDED
The project still needs approval from the Plattsburgh Town Planning Board. That would take a minimum of two months.
Plattsburgh Town Supervisor Bernie Bassett said the aggressive time line is good, especially in light of Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s recent budget adjustment. That and the unsteady economic outlook have clear implications on state and federal funding availability in the future, he said.
“Getting something that produces more jobs and puts more money in the local economy can only help,” Bassett said.
E-mail Dan Heath at:
dheath@pressrepublican.com
Local News
Bus company wants plant built and operational by January
- New Today
-
-
Waterway projects approved for Essex County
The State Emergency Management Office has so far identified 26 sites that need flood-mitigation or remediation; funding has come through for nine so far.
-
Champlain snowmobile crash results in serious injuries
Douglas M. Tetreault and Robert Worrell were transferred to Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington from CVPH Medical Center in Plattsburgh following the early morning accident along the Great Chazy River.
-
Waterway projects approved for Essex County
- Local News
-
-
Former Plattsburgh man sentenced for killing wife
Frank Dore, 57, of Bridgeport, Conn., was sentenced in court last week to 28 years in prison after killing his wife, Patti Rothermel-Dore, in their Connecticut home in 2010.
-
5 sex-crime cases heard in Franklin County
Five men recently appearing before the bench in Franklin County in separate incidents on charges involving rape, child porn and sexual contact with females as young as 6.
-
Town developing economic-development strategy
The new plan is intended to help the town present the assistance available as it attempts to attract businesses.
-
Mooers couple wins Valentine's Day wedding
Jessica Martin and Todd Dansereau will exchange vows live on Star 92.9.
-
Essex County will fund Horace Nye environmental study
The $3,000 evaluation is part of the process of marketing and selling the money-losing Nursing Home in Elizabethtown.
-
Nicaragua students tour North Country health-care facilities
A pair of 20-year-old medical students from Nicaragua have toured several health-care facilities. They are especially impressed with the physician-patient relationship in America, along with the advanced technology.
-
Ti Chamber to host employment-help workshops
The first open house, for both employers, employees and others from the Ticonderoga area, is Wednesday, Feb. 15.
-
Variety show, book sale featured at carnival
Saranac Lake Winter Carnival continues through Sunday.
-
Of Interest: Feb. 10, 2012
Dannemora to discuss highway post; Moriah School Board plans agenda; National Grid plans helicopter survey; AVCS School Board meeting on tap; Donations to Food Pantry will multiply.
-
Florida minister speaking at Plattsburgh House of Prayer
Head director of the Orlando House of Prayer in Ocoee, Fla., who also ministered for years with Benny Hinn, will speak at services Friday and Sunday.
- February 9, 2012
-
Former Plattsburgh man sentenced for killing wife
Frank Dore, 57, of Bridgeport, Conn., was sentenced in court last week to 28 years in prison after killing his wife, Patti Rothermel-Dore, in their Connecticut home in 2010.
-
Nicaragua students tour North Country health-care facilities
A pair of 20-year-old medical students from Nicaragua have toured several health-care facilities. They are especially impressed with the physician-patient relationship in America, along with the advanced technology.
-
Sex-crime cases
Five men recently appearing before the bench in Franklin County in separate incidents on charges involving rape, child porn and sexual contact with females as young as 6.
-
Essex County will fund Horace Nye environmental study
The $3,000 evaluation is part of the process of marketing and selling the money-losing Nursing Home in Elizabethtown.
-
Westport fire guts home
Teens escape early morning fire.
-
Peru School looks at relocating sixth grade
Parents and teachers are concerned by the possible change, which is being considered to cut costs.
-
Schools can exceed tax cap in some areas
BOCES business manager explains tax-cap-levy calculation.
-
Town hiring notice causes confusion
The Town of Malone's attempt to contract with an administrator for a business-loan program may not have followed state-grant guidelines.
-
- Recent Article Comments
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Expert: Removing LA School's Staff 'Appropriate'
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
