Canadian connection makes Plattsburgh a "hot property": A hot bed for economic development

The proximity of Plattsburgh and Clinton County to Montréal, Québec has made this otherwise remote area of upstate New York a hotbed of economic activity and Canadian direct investment. Economic development specialists and real estate professionals have been working closely in an effort to reach the 48,000 businesses currently located in and around the Montréal urban community, many of which already sell their products and services to U.S. customers. The numbers would indicate that the Plattsburgh "team" has done very well indeed. Currently, there are more than 275 Canadian-owned companies in Clinton County. Each day, approximately 20% of Clinton County's workforce gets up every morning and goes to work for a Canadian-owned company. And the estimated annual impact of the Canadian Connection without economic multipliers but including all Canadian related or border related activities, is now estimated at more than $1.53 billion per year. This, according to the bi-annual economic impact statement of things Canadian. Real estate in particular has felt the impact of the now much stronger Canadian dollar. The chamber estimates that Canadian-owned real estate in Clinton County has more than quintupled in the last 10 years for which such statistics have been compiled. In addition, the rental income of commercial properties leased to the Canadians has also multiplied, going from a little over $1 million per year to four times as much, over a ten-year span. Not surprisingly, Site Selection Magazine has ranked Plattsburgh among the top 20 communities for economic development in the nation for nine consecutive years. Garry Douglas, president and CEO of the Plattsburgh North Country Chamber of Commerce, responded to Site Selection's most recent designation, which was published in the May issue. "This is very gratifying, not only because it recognized all of the good work of our staff and volunteers, but because it puts another spotlight on the North Country as a place that site selectors and investors should be looking to," said Douglas. Douglas's organization is now the largest group of its kind north of Albany, boasting more than 3,200 members. Ironically, the Clinton County area was considered economically doomed just a few years ago, when the U.S. Air Force base at Plattsburgh was shut down in 1997. But instead the former Air Force base has become an economic engine, creating hundreds of new jobs and millions of dollars in new investments. In addition to moving the County Airport over to the Air Force base, Plattsburgh has also managed to attract such companies as Bombardier, NovaBus, and several hundred, mostly Canadian, manufacturers, assembly operations and warehouse/distribution facilities. Most recently, the new airport has lured two new airlines, Allegiant Air and Myrtle Beach air, which are now flying regular flights to Orlando and Myrtle Beach. The two new airlines have attracted so many Montréalers, that the county has just announced plans to double the size of their free parking lot. The "old airport" also features a newly constructed terminal building perched just yards away from the spot where nuclear-armed fighter jets were once housed. Even the housing market, depressed in many other areas of the state, remains stable in the Plattsburgh area, propped up by the ever-increasing presence of border related federal agencies whose employees represent a constant demand for middle and high income properties. The area's economic strength was recognized last year when Policom Corp., a Fla.-based economic consulting firm, recognized Plattsburgh as 27th in their list of 577 micropolitan areas in the entire nation, the only one in NYS, for its economic growth and vitality. And the good news continues. After an announcement by Wyeth Laboratories that it would shut down its Rouses Point facility and lay off 1,200 workers, the community sprang into action led again by the Chamber of Commerce. The community promptly secured a new company for the one million s/f facility. Akrimax is a start up pharmaceutical firm, which has promised not only to retain all of Wyeth's employees, but to expand the work force by the year 2010. Most recently, a start-up aerospace firm has announced that they too are eyeing the former Air Force base as a site for their planned aviation maintenance and repair facility. Although the $175 million project has not yet closed, officials with Laurentian Aerospace have said they are "cautiously optimistic." The new company projects one thousand new jobs within three years and is expected to make a firm announcement by end of summer. Plattsburgh and Clinton County, it seems, are on a roll and will continue to be one of NYS's hottest investment properties. Mark Barie is president and Matthew Boire is vice president of Crossborder Development, Rouses Point, N.Y.