Schenectady, N.Y. — The Schenectady County Metroplex Development Authority today announced that National Grid is providing a $10,000 matching grant to help bring new businesses to the Rotterdam Corporate Park, especially the former Union Pacific (UP) Cold Connect Building.
The Rotterdam Corporate Park is the largest business park in the Capital Region with almost four million square feet of space. It is owned by the Galesi Group. The owners will provide a $5,000 match for the marketing project. Metroplex has approved a $5,000 match and National Grid is providing $10,000 through its Cooperative Business Recruitment Program.
“It’s always our pleasure to work with Metroplex in Schenectady as well as the Galesi Group. This project to promote growth at the Rotterdam Corporate Park is a great opportunity to strengthen those relationships while keeping the economy going during these challenging times,” said National Grid Regional Executive Laurie Poltynski.
“Thanks to Metroplex, National Grid and the Galesi Group for providing funds to market the Rotterdam Corporate Park,” said Schenectady County Legislator Gary Hughes. “This county asset includes the former UP building, a unique cold storage site with easy access to I-90 and rail service.”
Ray Gillen, Metroplex Chair said, “National Grid has always been a strong supporter of our economic development efforts in Schenectady County. This cooperative business recruitment grant will help us build on recent successes at the Rotterdam Corporate Park while helping to identify tenants for the vacant UP building.”
This year, the Rotterdam Corporate Park has added over 250,000 square feet of new space for national tenants including FedEx and Home Depot. A new 200,000 square foot building is under construction by the Galesi Group.
The freight railroad closed a food distribution facility earlier this year due to a severe drop in demand for fresh produce purchased by restaurants. The building features over 228,000 square feet of space including more than 100,000 square feet of cooler space and the facility is food grade. There are 41 truck doors and a rail spur that enters the building allowing for direct unloading of rail cars.
The UP building is being marketed by Peter Struzzi, Executive Managing Broker at Pyramid Brokerage, a Cushman & Wakefield company. A video featuring the building can be found here.
The new marketing program will feature the Rotterdam Corporate Park on numerous websites and in magazines that serve the food distribution and cold storage markets. Marketing outreach will also occur in the pharmaceutical and other targeted industries where demand for cold storage and warehouse space is strong.