The U.S. Commerce Department has chosen a proposal called theWestern New York Advanced Manufacturing Cluster as one of the first awardees for President Joe Biden's Build Back Better Challenge.
“This is big news for Buffalo and the entire Western New York region," said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who had lobbied for the cluster. "Now many more will see what I’ve long known: Western New York has all the right ingredients to be the nation’s next tech hub!"
The $1 billion challenge is funded by the American Rescue Plan and is designed to assist communities nationwide recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Schumer said Western New York was one of 60 finalists chosen out of 529 applications submitted from across the country.
"The Western New York Advanced Manufacturing Cluster proposal, submitted by the Western New York Regional Economic Development Council, would help train over 1,600 individuals for a career in tech over a three-year period," Schumer said. "The project would also work to fill gaps in the Western New York innovation ecosystem, that will enable the region to become a national hub in key industries like vaccine production, utility infrastructure components, industrial gases and precision motion control."
He said the proposal will receive a Phase One grant of $500,000 through the Economic Development Administration. This money will be used to develop proposals to bolster the region's advanced high-tech manufacturing sector and, in turn, compete in Phase Two for a chance at a federal grant of up to $100 million.
“There's a lot of possibilities that this will give us, but it does kind of validate the last 20 years and the Buffalo Billion initiatives and, you know, having as a strategic approach, especially the manufacturing, and especially the tech, that a lot of communities are now rushing to try and replicate. We're already ahead of the game,” said Thomas Kucharski, president and CEO of Invest Buffalo Niagara, one of the entities backing the Cluster's bid.
Schumer, during his announcement, envisioned the possibility of winning up to $100 million to “revolutionize the region’s manufacturing sector, revitalize Buffalo’s East Side, and train the next generation for good paying jobs.” Kucharski explained that given the short period of time, the bid was assembled with a more Western New York focus in mind. But he sees a success here as a step towards acquiring further support to set up Western and Central New York as a broader, attractive economic development destination.
“It is part of a larger strategy to get both private and further federal assistance to maybe do something really grand, that would be in the billions, that would attract a tech employer and really build out the supplier and science chain to support it within the greater Buffalo, Rochester, and even Syracuse region,” he said. “Because we really need all of that to get on the radar screen for some of these companies and where they're looking.”
Up to 30 of the 60 finalists are expected to be chosen as winners in Phase Two.
