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Genesee County Economic Development Center

1 Mill Street | Batavia, NY 14020 | Phone: 585/343-4866 | Fax: 585/343-0848 | e-mail: gcedc@gcedc.com

Date: November 26, 2008
For Further Information Contact: Chad Zambito, VP of Marketing and Communications – 585-343-4866 Ext 17

National Grid Enables One of a Kind Business Park

Batavia, NY — The park is located between State routes 5 and 63 in Batavia and sits in close proximity to Oakta Milk Products, a regional balancing plant. When completed, the site will contain nearly 200 "Shovel Ready" acres that will be serviced by industrial class electric, gas and rail. The park also has access to 6 million gallons of aquifer water daily, ideal for food production applications.

The GCEDC and Farm Credit of WNY have an agreement in place that will give the GCEDC 51% ownership of the new entity, called the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park LLC. The new partnership will own and operate the park. Phase 1 construction, which will include $6 million worth of infrastructure improvements, will begin early in 2009 with construction of the roadway. $3 million in funding is being provided by the state with another $2.1 million coming from Genesee County. The GCEDC and the Town of Batavia will provide the remainder of the funds. The partnership with Farm Credit of WNY will allow the funding to be put into place as needed for park improvements.

"This is really a terrific and unique partnership between a private organization and a public benefit corporation. Both partners bring tremendous assets and value to the project and we are excited about the opportunities the arrangement will bring," said Steve Hyde, President and CEO of the GCEDC. "We could not have done it without all the players, including New York State, Genesee County, the Town of Batavia and National Grid."

"We have long recognized agri-business as one of the key drivers of the upstate New York economy, and we’re please to be able to support the industry and this particular project with this grant," said Dennis Elsenbeck, regional executive director of Energy Solutions for National Grid.

National Grid’s Shovel Ready Infrastructure program provides grants to qualifying applicants for the installation of utility infrastructure on sites that have met the state’s certification for shovel-ready development. It is part of a broader economic development program designed to help communities and businesses throughout the upstate region. Since 2003, National Grid has provided nearly $9 million in direct economic development project funding throughout Western New York, including this grant.

National Grid is an international energy delivery company. In the U.S., National Grid delivers electricity to approximately 3.3 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island, and manages the electricity network on Long Island under an agreement with the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA). It is the largest distributor of natural gas in the northeastern U.S., serving approximately 3.4 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island. National Grid also owns over 4,000 megawatts of contracted electricity generation that provides power to over one million LIPA customers.

The Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park hopes to have its first occupant break ground in the spring. A Canadian food processor intends to build a $15 million facility in the park, creating 100 new jobs.

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…National Grid has awarded the real estate affiliate of the Genesee County Economic Development Center $100,000 to be used for infrastructure at the Genesee Valley Agri-Business Park, a one of a kind park dedicated to Agri-business and food production. The grant was awarded through National Grid’s Shovel Ready Infrastructure program and will help extend electric service into the 200+ acre park which is owned by a public/private partnership that includes the GCEDC and Farm Credit of Western New York