69´«Ã½

The city has been awarded $8.5 million to renovate the factory, which closed in 2006. It is one of four special projects statewide that received funding through the Restore NY Communities Initiative. 

City officials announced in January that it would seek a $10 million grant to rehabilitate the Orchard Street facility. The state program "encourages community development and neighborhood growth through the elimination and redevelopment of blighted structures," according to its description. 

69´«Ã½ City Manager Jeff Dygert told 69´«Ã½ Monday that the combination of the state grant and new owners of the Bombardier plant will help with any potential project at the site. The property is now owned by Alstom, which acquired Bombardier in 2021. 

"They have been very responsive to us as we had conversations about the future of that facility," Dygert said. "Those two things coming together, the right owner and the financial incentives, I think that if we continue to work together with Alstom, hopefully we'll find the most appropriate tenant we can find for that building." 

Alstom has committed to marketing the property to find a new owner that will reuse the facility. Local leaders have said that is a departure from Bombardier's approach, which was to resist attempts to redevelop the site. 

There has been some movement this year toward finding a new use for the closed factory. Michael Miller, executive director of the Cayuga Economic Development Agency, told county lawmakers in March that a "blind applicant" inquired about the property through Empire State Development, New York's lead economic development agency. With that apparent interest, CEDA updated its materials to better market the property. 

One potential use for the facility is to capitalize on Micron's $100 billion investment in central New York. The semiconductor chipmaker will need supply chain businesses to support the larger manufacturing plant in Onondaga 69´«Ã½. 

In a press release announcing the grant for the city of 69´«Ã½, Hochul's office said the former Bombardier factory "will be rehabilitated into a space to attract supply chain companies that will be interested because of the Micron megafab in Clay." 

Dygert explained that the site's location — it's on the Arterial in the city and not far from the Thruway — could make it attractive to a Micron supply chain business. The facility also has its own substation, he said, so it is equipped for a company that needs a lot of power. 

"I think it puts us in a great position for (Micron), but there's a lot of other stuff going on right now outside of Micron," he added. "The timing couldn't be better on this." 

69´«Ã½ will received a second grant through the Restore NY Communities Initiative for a separate project. The city has been awarded $1.12 million for the renovation of a building at 22 E. Genesee St. The funding will support a project to transform the building into a mixed-use facility with commercial space on the first floor and apartments on the upper floors.