START-UP NY

If you are a business owner or an entrepreneur, your company can relocate or expand in Oneonta, New York and operate 100% tax-free for 10 years under the recently announced START-UP New York program.

Hartwick College was among the first three private colleges to be approved as a START-UP New York site. The tax free designation applies to 50,000 square feet of vacant property on Oyaron Hill in Oneonta.

START-UP New York is an economic development program created to stimulate job growth and to promote partnerships between businesses and the state’s higher education sector. Companies that meet participation requirements pay no income tax, business, corporate, state or local taxes, sales or property taxes, or franchise fees FOR 10 YEARS. In addition, employees of the participating company pay no state income taxes for 10 years.

Qualifications for business participation in the program can be found at www.startup.ny.gov. To summarize, eligible businesses must be:

• A new company in New York State; or
• A company from out of state that is relocating to New York; or
• A company that already has employees in New York State that plans to expand its operations.

(Please note that not all businesses are eligible to participate – for example, retail and wholesale businesses, restaurants, medical and dental practices, and law firms are excluded from the START-UP program.) An approved company must agree to create new jobs in the first year of operation, provide positive community and economic benefits, and align with the mission of the College with which they associate through use of a START-UP approved site. The complete list participation requirements and benefits can be found at www.startup.ny.gov.

This is an unprecedented opportunity and the College welcomes serious inquiries from any potential START-UP New York partner whose business aligns with one of the College’s academic areas outlined in our proposal. Your company gets the benefit of tax relief; Hartwick gets the benefit of a negotiated licensing fee for use of the College’s approved site, internship opportunities for students, and the potential opportunity that comes with an increase in the number of jobs available for Hartwick graduates and the families of Hartwick employees.

Hartwick Academic Program Areas Designated for this Program:

• Biology
• Biotechnology
• Biochemistry
• Chemistry
• Economics
• Environmental Science and Policy
• Environmental Chemistry
• Geology
• Nursing
• Art and Art History
• Management
• Marketing

In addition to some of the most progressive and business-friendly tax incentives in the country, START-UP New York offers qualified businesses access to the research capacity of one of the world’s most robust and diverse higher education communities. At Hartwick, a START-UP New York company could have the benefit of access to faculty who have received research grants from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, and Research Corporation, and with talented undergraduates who are accepted into the most selective graduate programs in the country.

Other states, such as North Carolina (i.e. the Research Triangle), have successfully leveraged the assets of higher education to promote business development and job creation. Creating an entrepreneurial ecosystem in which creative businesses collaborate with talented faculty and students will encourage the development of new products, new services, a more diverse economy, and more jobs. These are a few of the long term benefits that can accrue to all parties who participate in START-UP NY. Importantly, a larger number and greater diversity of jobs in NY State will allow talented and well educated Hartwick students the choice to remain in the area after graduation.

We would consider it ideal to partner with a START-UP NY business partner who was a member of the Hartwick community.

START-UP NY is a great opportunity for business and for Hartwick College. I hope that you find that it is, ultimately, a great opportunity for you.

Lisa Iannello
Director of Corporate, Foundation & Government Relations
Hartwick College
P.O. Box 4020
Oneonta, NY 13820
Phone: 607-431-4061
Email: iannellol@hartwick.edu