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New York’s Drone Industry Will Get Boost from $5M State Grant

Initially earmarked to help build the state’s nanotech industry, the money will now go toward companies focused on unmanned systems and job creation.

(TNS) — Syracuse, N.Y. — A $5 million state grant that was targeted for a nanotech center in Salina that never got off the ground is instead being used to promote the creation of drone industry jobs in Central New York and the Mohawk Valley.

Five companies in the unmanned aerial systems, or drone, industry have already been awarded up to $3.4 million from the fund in exchange for commitments to create 181 jobs.

Grants from the UAS Central Job Fund can be used to reimburse an employer up to $55,000 per job in order to increase the number of employees in the drone industry, as well as the autonomous vehicle and aerospace sectors, in Central New York and the Mohawk Valley.

The money can be used for salaries, equipment, training, rent or purchase of space or other business expenses required to support the additional staff. Costs incurred for jobs filled prior to the grant approval are not eligible for reimbursement.

In 2010, state officials announced plans to spend up to $28 million to redevelop the 74,000-square-foot building former General Electric Co. Electronics Laboratory building in Salina into a nanotechnology research and development center.

The state spent $1.7 million of the $28 million in 2012 and 2013 to gut the building and remove asbestos and lead paint. However, no further development occurred because no nanotech industry tenant — or any other tech industry tenant, for that matter -- took an interest in the building.

Assemblyman Al Stirpe, D-Cicero, who helped to arrange the state funding for the failed nanotech center in Salina, said he and officials at CenterState CEO, which managed that project for the state, came up with the idea to use some of the unspent money to create the UAS job fund.

"The main objective is to get a headquarters location in Central New York," he said. "That's where I think you get the big advantages."

The state and CenterState CEO, an economic planning and development organization based in Syracuse, have been promoting Central New York and the Mohawk Valley as a place for drone industry research and development and manufacturing.

The administration of Gov. Andrew Cuomo has committed $30 million to developing the nation's first-of-its-kind 50-mile drone air corridor between Syracuse and Griffiss International Airport in Rome. The Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance, or Nuair, launched the first part of the corridor in 2017.

The five companies that have been awarded grants from the job fund are:

  • AutoModality Inc., which has developed navigation technology that allows drones to automatically conduct close-up inspections of bridges, buildings, power lines and other structures, has committed to creating up to 59 jobs in Syracuse over the next seven years.

    Total project cost: $16 Million. Total state investment: $2 Million ($500,000 in Central New York Rising Upstate Revitalization Initiative funding, $1 Million from Excelsior Jobs Tax Credit Program and $500,000 the UAS Central Job Fund).
  • Northeast Information Discovery Inc., a cyber security research and development business that plans to build a facility in Canastota, has committed to creating up to 45 jobs over the next five years.

    Total capital cost: $1 million. Total state investment: $974,000. ($200,000 in Regional Council Capital Fund funding, $90,000 in Excelsior tax credits and $684,000 from the UAS Central Job Fund).
  • Thales USA Inc. has committed to creating up to 26 jobs in Central New York as it brings its air traffic management system to the 50-mile drone air corridor.

    Total project cost: $4.6 Million. Total state investment: $1.5 ($1 million in Excelsior tax credits and $500,000 from the UAS Central Job Fund).
  • Assured Information Security Inc. has committed to creating up to 12 new jobs in Syracuse and Rome as it launches a division focused on the cybersecurity of unmanned systems.

    Total project cost: $900,000. Total state investment: $240,000 from the UAS Central Job Fund.
  • Unifly, a Belgium-based company, will create up to 39 jobs as it establishes its North American headquarters in Central New York to deploy its software platform and support traffic management testing.

    Total project cost: $10 million in salaries over five years. Total state investment: $1.5 million from the UAS Central Job Fund).
In addition, drone manufacturer Microdrones committed to creating four jobs but has already created seven in the region. It is not receiving money from the UAS Central Job Fund but is receiving benefits under the START-UP NY program.

©2018 Syracuse Media Group, N.Y. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.