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SCHENECTADY
SEFCU bringing jobs downtown
Former Clinton Square will house at least 60 workers
BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter

    SEFCU will bring at least 60 employees to downtown Schenectady by moving its commercial lending, business banking and insurance business divisions to the former Clinton Square building at State and Clinton streets, officials announced Wednesday.
    SEFCU, an Albany-based credit union, will lease approximately 20,000 square feet in the four-story building, which will be renamed SEFCU Square. Its divisions will occupy the second, third and fourth floors through a long-term lease. It also will relocate its branch at State Street and Broadway, site of the state Department of Transportation regional headquarters, to the fi rst floor of SEFCU Square.
    Anthology Design will remain a tenant on the fi rst floor of SEFCU Square, leaving a 3,000-squarefoot spot for a future tenant, according to Ray Gillen, chairman of the Metroplex Development Authority.
    “We are real pleased. SEFCU is a solid company that is coming to downtown,” he said.
    SEFCU is relocating its commercial lending and business banking divisions from its main headquarters at 700 Patroon Creek Blvd. in Albany and its insurance division from Latham, said SEFCU President and CEO Michael J. Castellana.
    “We are centralizing them and then we will move to expand them. It is not merely a card shuffle but a consolidation of the resources we have and a recommitment and enhanced growth of our commercial operations,” he said.
    As part of the relocation to Schenectady, SEFCU will receive a $150,000 grant from Metroplex. The grant will help the company fit out SEFCU Square, basically a shell at the moment.
    Metroplex’s grant is tied to SEFCU’s commitment to bring at least 60 jobs downtown, Gillen said. Castellana said SEFCU expects to add 60 or more jobs to the site in coming months.
    “We have entered the commercial services market and have reached more than a critical mass. We are at a point where we are going into a significant growth phase,” Castellana said. “We expect to double the employees downtown quickly.”
    SEFCU will also lease 60 parking spaces downtown from Metroplex for $30,000 per year, Gillen said.
    Castellana said SEFCU was looking for space to grow and settled on downtown Schenectady. “I was committed to an urban environment where we could be a catalyst to growth,” he said.
    SEFCU’s presence downtown is expected to “bring stability to the area, and that stability attracts others to the area,” Castellana said.
    Susan Savage, D-Niskayuna, chairwoman of the Schenectady County Legislature, said the addition of SEFCU diversifies downtown’s mix of offerings.
    “The heart of our economic development plan is job creation,” she said. “This is a tremendous anchor for downtown.” .....................>>>>..............>>>>................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01102&AppName=1

What everyone is missing here is that Metroplex paid way too much (hundreds of thousands) for these buildings, then sold it to Plank for $1. Then got him a $1.4 M grant, then a facade grant, tax exemptions, for 60 jobs...

What a ripoff!

Quoted from 615

What everyone is missing here is that Metroplex paid way too much (hundreds of thousands) for these buildings, then sold it to Plank for $1. Then got him a $1.4 M grant, then a facade grant, tax exemptions, for 60 jobs...

What a ripoff!

I doubt anyone "missed it" .. we're just numb from the arrogance and audacity from our elected officials and sick & tired of the abuses of tax dollars. Our complaints fall on deaf ears thanks to and because of, the poor leadership of the minority party.

Quoted from 615

What everyone is missing here is that Metroplex paid way too much (hundreds of thousands) for these buildings, then sold it to Plank for $1. Then got him a $1.4 M grant, then a facade grant, tax exemptions, for 60 jobs...

What a ripoff!

The plex is giving away the farm to the 'selective' bidders. I would love to get my hands on the bids that actually come in for projects and see who really is the lowest bidder.

60 jobs, 60 parking spots.  So, essentially, it'll be as easy for customers to find a parking spot at the new branch as it is for them to find one in the parking lot of the current branch...which doesn't have one.  And SEFCU has to pay $500 a year for each parking spot for the priveledge of bringing in these jobs and filling an empty building.  I guesss the employees could walk / commute to let the customers park?

While he can trumpet the great jobs, the company is left thinking "at what cost?"

Hopefully it works out, but it appears to be business as usual.

Quoted from 615

What everyone is missing here is that Metroplex paid way too much (hundreds of thousands) for these buildings, then sold it to Plank for $1. Then got him a $1.4 M grant, then a facade grant, tax exemptions, for 60 jobs...

What a ripoff!

It's worse than that. The Pizza King was on this corner for 20+ years. He was forced out for a "rehab". The "rehab" was really a knock down that sat totally empty for years. The King force marched near City Hall.

     Now the top floors are finally being rented out. The ground floor that should be rented first in any real "renaissance" still sits empty. Metrograft also gave out $150,000 in taxpayer largess to make this happen. And this is cheered? Pass me the tea.