Office park coming to New Hartford

Sep 30, 2007 @ 09:47 PM

By TORY N. PARRISH

Observer-Dispatch

NEW HARTFORD -

The insurance and investment company, which currently leases facilities in New Hartford at 4401 Middle Settlement Road and 8364 Seneca Turnpike, plans to consolidate into one new building.

NEW HARTFORD OFFICE PARK

* The New Hartford Office Group LLC, an affiliate of the Cameron Group LLC, a Syracuse-based development firm, is moving ahead with plans to develop the New Hartford Office Park

* The property is bordered by Woods Highway, Seneca Turnpike and Route 840. When its developer proposed the project to the town of New Hartford's Planning Board in January 2006, the office park called for developing about 120 acres of vacant land behind PAR Technology Park

* The $25 million project's plans included building up to 50 office buildings for tenants, including doctors, lawyers and insurance companies, as well as the creation of a road to connect Woods Highway with Route 840. 

* An application for a break in access to Route 840 was submitted by the town of New Hartford to the Utica office of the state's Department of Transportation, which has recommended it for review by the state office in Albany, said Alice Romanych, spokeswoman at the Utica office. 

* The Hartford insurance company will be the first tenant to break ground in the park. The Ryan Companies is purchasing 13.5 acres and building a 120,000-square-foot to 150,000-square-foot building for The Hartford, which will lease the building it plans to occupy by late 2008. 

* The price for developing the office park could double to $50 million, especially since The Hartford project is a $23 million investment, said Larry Adler, who is a principal in the New Hartford Office Group LLC and the Cameron Group LLC. 

* Costello Eye Physicians & Surgeons and Mohawk Valley Urology will build a 15,000 square foot to 25,000-square-foot building that could house three doctor offices in the office park. They will likely break ground this spring in order to open in the fall, Adler said.

“This is a great kickoff to the office park,” said Larry Adler, who is a principal in The New Hartford Office Group and Cameron.

The New Hartford Office Group LLC, an affiliate Syracuse-based development firm Cameron Group LLC, owns the 120 acres that will be developed as the office park. The property is bordered by Woods Highway, Seneca Turnpike and Route 840. The Hartford’s new site will occupy about 13.5 acres along Route 840, Adler said.

Last year, the New Hartford Town Planning Board approved a final site plan for the first phase of the office park, but said an access road from Woods Highway needed to be built for subsequent phases.

Adler wants to connect the road to Route 840 from an exit off the highway.

That application for a break in access to Route 840 was submitted by the town to the Utica office of the state’s Department of Transportation, which has recommended it for review by the state office in Albany, said Alice Romanych, spokeswoman at the Utica office.

The Hartford, which has 689 employees, is part of The Hartford Financial Services Group, which is based in Hartford, Conn.

The new building in New Hartford will be between 120,000 square feet and 150,000 square feet, said Shawna Papale, executive director of the Oneida County Industrial Development Agency.

The Ryan Companies U.S. Inc., based in Minneapolis, will construct the building on 13.5 acres it is purchasing from the New Hartford Office Group, then lease the building to The Hartford.

Ryan will begin construction today and expects the project to be finished by Nov. 1, 2008, said Ryan Soukup, project manager at Ryan Companies.

The Hartford plans to open at the new location in late 2008, according to company spokeswoman Debora Raymond.

The project is estimated to cost $23 million, including an estimated $15 million to construct the building, Papale said.

The Oneida County Industrial Development Agency’s board of directors Thursday granted preliminary approval of a tax relief package for the project.

The development agency approved a 10-year payment in lieu of taxes program, or PILOT, that will allow one-third of the property taxes to be paid for the first five years and two-thirds to be paid for the remaining five years.

The agency also granted a sales tax exemption, on construction materials and equipment, that is valued at an estimated $700,000.

The tax relief package is tied to the company maintaining 689 jobs for the 10-year period.

“The finance, insurance, real estate cluster is one that we want to see growth opportunities for,” said Papale, who said 

The Hartford is one of the area’s biggest companies in terms of pay and employees. 

The average salary at the company is in the mid-$40,000s, she said.

A public hearing on the tax relief program will be at 9 a.m. Friday, Nov. 2, at the New Hartford Community Center on Kellogg Road. The development agency is scheduled to vote on final approval Wednesday, Nov. 7.

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