An unnamed—and unknown—Fortune 500 company is looking at Cobleskill for as many as 500 jobs on 100 acres.
To start.
The firm is looking around for a site with about 750,000 square feet of building space—one-third larger than the former Guilford Mills--with the longterm goal of growing it to 1 million square feet and 800 jobs.
No one is naming the company; Julie Rohan, Empire Zone coordinator, and Alicia Terry, head of County Planning and Development, said despite a day driving representatives around to look at a handful of sites, they still don’t know who they’re dealing with.
But it’s an opportunity Cobleskill might not want to pass up, the two told Supervisor Roger Cohn and councilmen Monday.
Locally, the company is most interested in a site at the corner of Route 145 and Mineral Springs Road, Ms. Rohan said, but the catch is that they want to move quickly and wants a spot that could be shovel-ready in seven months.
Ms. Terry explained that occasionally Empire State Development sends out word of companies looking for likely sites across New York State.
Her office sends back possibilities, she said, and this time they’ve heard back from two companies interested at looking at sites within the Town of Cobleskill.
What makes the Route 145/Mineral Springs site especially attractive is its proximity to toll-free I-88.
Because the company is talking so many jobs, Ms. Rohan said they would qualify for Empire Zone benefits.
“The question is how long it would take to put a shovel in the ground,” she said.
Right now, the property they’re most interested isn’t necessarily zoned to permit the project and Ms. Rohan suggested the town might want to add more permitted uses to the B-3 zone or even rezoning it.
“This type of project could help bring water and sewer to that corner,” she pointed out.
“We anticipate the site becoming very popular…We’re just looking to proceed in this corner.”
The addition of Empire Zone sites to Cobleskill “changes the dynamics” of the site, Mr. Cohn said.
“I think we have to look at things and make some possible changes,” he said. “I’m certainly for it.”
Councilman Sherwood Veith said it’s probably a good idea to take a look at similar sites throughout the town and Linda Angell said she’s a strong believer in the “shovel-ready” concept.
Andrea Nadeau, chairman of the Planning Board, said shovel-ready is a concept they’ve been talking about for seven or eight years, even before there was an Empire Zone.
“But it’s also something we want to look at very carefully,” he said. “They’re looking at us because other areas are packed full…But it’s something we should definitely look at.”