New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 21 - Miscellaneous › Chapter L - New York State Urban Development Corporation › Part 4243 - Economic Development Fund › General › Section 4243.2 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a)
(1) Administering corporation shall mean a
				  local or regional organization or consortia of financial institutions that
				  satisfactorily demonstrate their ability to administer flexible financing
				  programs (as hereinafter defined).
(2) Capital access projects shall mean
				  grants, loans and loan guarantees (i) to small and medium-sized businesses (as
				  hereinafter defined), including minority-and women-owned enterprises, and (ii)
				  to not-for-profit child care centers to facilitate access to bank funding in
				  connection with the Federal Community Reinvestment Act ("CRA").
(3) Commercial area development financing
				  projects shall mean projects intended to improve commercial buildings,
				  commercial-strips, downtown areas and business districts.
(4) Competitiveness improvement means any
				  assistance provided to entities within the State by the corporation, including
				  but not limited to, to improve the productivity, work force, market or
				  financial position, to promote increased export trade, or overall
				  competitiveness or to prevent the closing, partial closing or relocation
				  outside the State of a manufacturing or non-retail service firm or a tourism
				  facility.
(5) Corporation shall
				  mean the New York State Urban Development Corporation doing business as Empire
				  State Development Corporation.
(6)
				  CRA enhancement fund shall mean funding provided to not-for-profit child care
				  centers by an administering corporation if financing provided by private
				  banking institutions to meet CRA (as defined in paragraph [2] of this
				  subdivision) requirements, in addition to funds from other sources, do not
				  fully cover the total project costs.
(7) Distressed area shall mean a substandard
				  or insanitary area, wherein there exists a condition of substantial and
				  persistent unemployment or underemployment or an area which is in danger of
				  becoming a substandard or insanitary area.
(8) Economic development benefits means, but
				  is not limited to, the creation or retention of permanent private sector jobs;
				  and expansion of the State economy through improved productivity, market and
				  financial positions, and overall competitiveness of the State's
				  businesses.
(9) Economic
				  development fund determinations shall mean the following:
(i) that the proposed project would promote
				  the economic health of the State by facilitating the creation or retention of
				  jobs or would increase business activity within a political subdivision or
				  region of the State;
(ii) that the
				  project would be unlikely to take place in the State without the requested
				  assistance; and
(iii) that the
				  project is reasonably likely to accomplish its stated objectives and that the
				  likely benefits of the project exceed costs.
(10) Economic development initiatives shall
				  mean initiatives (as described in section
				  4243.24 of this Part) for the uses
				  described in section
				  4243.25(b) of
				  this Part and intended to create or retain jobs or prevent, reduce or eliminate
				  unemployment or underemployment, or increase business activity in a distressed
				  area.
(11) Eligible applicant
				  means, as permitted under the Act:
(i) a
				  manufacturing or non-retail service firm or material handling facility or
				  tourism facility; a business group or consortium or association or industry
				  group or association, in each case which consists of or represents
				  manufacturing or non-retail service firms or material handling facilities; a
				  not-for-profit entity; a local development corporation; an industrial
				  development agency; a public benefit corporation, a municipality, a local or
				  regional economic development corporation or an educational entity/provider;
				  and
(ii) for the purpose of
				  employee training assistance only, in addition to those entities specified in
				  subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, a private industry council, as defined by
				  the Federal Job Training Partnership Act ( P.L. 97-300), shall be an eligible
				  applicant.
(12) Eligible
				  business shall mean as permitted under the Act, an industrial, manufacturing,
				  research and development, high technology, tourism, agricultural, non-retail
				  service business or not-for-profit organization engaged in economic
				  development.
(13) Eligible
				  recipients for the purposes of:
(i)
				  Commercial area development financing shall include:
(a) municipalities of the State;
(b) local development corporations;
(c) industrial development agencies;
				  and
(d) any business or group of
				  businesses authorized to conduct business in the State.
(ii) Federal and urban site financing shall
				  include:
(a) municipalities of the
				  State;
(b) industrial development
				  agencies;
(c) not-for-profit
				  corporations of the State engaged in economic development; and
(d) local and regional economic development
				  corporations of the State.
(iii) General development financing shall
				  include any business authorized to conduct business in the State for the
				  following purposes: manufacturing, non-retail service firms, headquarters
				  facilities of firms engaged generally in retail industries, retail firms (as
				  hereinafter defined) located in distressed areas and other businesses whose
				  purpose is to develop recreational, cultural or historical facilities that are
				  likely to attract significant numbers of visitors. Generally, any business
				  shall have been in existence for at least three years.
(iv) Infrastructure development financing
				  shall include:
(a) any eligible business
				  authorized to conduct business in the State that, generally, has been in
				  business for at least three years;
(b) municipalities of the State;
(c) industrial development agencies;
				  and
(d) regional and local economic
				  development corporations.
(v) Regional and industrial planning studies
				  and economic development initiatives shall include:
(a) municipalities of the State;
(b) not-for-profit corporations of the State
				  engaged in economic development; and
(c) local and regional economic development
				  organizations.
(vi)
				  Capital access projects shall include eligible administering
				  corporations.
(14)
				  Evaluation criteria shall mean the criteria set forth in section
				  4243.3 of this Part, and in other
				  provisions of this Part regarding evaluation of a proposal for certain types of
				  assistance, to be applied in evaluating a proposal for assistance.
(15) Export shall mean a good or service
				  which is a product of an enterprise within the State, has no less that 50
				  percent content produced or value added within the State, and is shipped or
				  provided outside the boundaries of the United States of America and its
				  territories and possessions.
(16)
				  Federal and urban site financing projects shall mean projects for the
				  re-development of Federal facility sites (as hereinafter defined), urban
				  industrial sites (as hereinafter defined), industrial parks (as hereinafter
				  defined) and incubator buildings (as hereinafter defined) for the purpose of
				  attracting, retaining or permitting the expansion of an eligible business in
				  accordance with section
				  4243.13 of this Part and the other
				  applicable provisions of this Part.
(17) Federal facility site shall mean any
				  parcel or assembly of land formerly occupied by an entity of the Federal
				  government of the United States of America.
(18) Flexible financing programs shall mean,
				  without limitation:
(i) loan loss reserve
				  funds (as hereinafter defined);
(ii) revolving loan funds (as hereinafter
				  defined); and
(iii) CRA enhancement
				  funds.
(19) General
				  development financing shall mean a project for an eligible recipient as set
				  forth in section
				  4243.9 of this Part for one or
				  more of the uses permitted under section
				  4243.10 of this Part.
(20) Incubator building shall mean a facility
				  developed in order to provide affordable rent and shared support services to a
				  number of new and small businesses.
(21) Industrial park shall mean a parcel or
				  assembly of land, developed according to a comprehensive plan, to provide
				  development sites and/or facilities for business and/or industrial
				  uses.
(22) Ineligible costs - the
				  following shall be ineligible uses for funding under the program:
(i) refinancing of any existing debt provided
				  that assistance in the form of permanent financing to replace construction
				  financing for an otherwise eligible project shall be allowed;
(ii) assistance to any agency of the State,
				  except that assistance may be rendered for or in connection with improvements
				  of real property owned by the corporation or the State or any agency,
				  department, public authority or public benefit corporation of the State or any
				  subsidiary of such a public benefit corporation where such assistance will
				  benefit one or more eligible businesses located on such real property or in the
				  community in which such real property is located;
(iii) any residential purpose;
(iv) payment of any tax or employee benefit
				  arrearages; and
(v) expenses
				  incurred before submission of an application for program assistance or the
				  written acceptance of a letter issued by the corporation as offering such
				  assistance.
(23)
				  Ineligible recipient - the following shall be ineligible for funding under the
				  program:
(i) overnight lodging facilities,
				  except in the case of tourism destination projects (as hereinafter defined)
				  that include such facilities and, in such cases the costs of such facilities
				  may be included in calculating the total project costs;
(ii) legal, medical or nursing
				  services;
(iii) educational
				  services, except in the case of any training assistance;
(iv) retail firms not located in distressed
				  areas; and
(v) casinos.
(24) Infrastructure development
				  financing projects shall mean projects whose purpose is to attract, retain or
				  permit the expansion of an eligible business as permitted under section
				  4243.20 of this Part.
(25) Infrastructure investment project shall
				  mean a project as described in section
				  4243.20 of this Part:
(i) consisting solely of site preparation,
				  clearance and/or demolition on publicly-owned or leased land and may include
				  the eligible uses set forth in section
				  4243.21(a)(1) and
				  (2) of this Part for projects located in
				  distressed areas and for which the corporation may provide grant
				  assistance;
(ii) with the applicant
				  being a municipality, an industrial development agency or a local or regional
				  economic development corporation;
(iii) for which economic development fund
				  determinations can be made and for which the evaluation criteria, as
				  applicable, can be met;
(iv) for
				  which, except as provided in subparagraph (v) of this paragraph, grant
				  assistance shall generally not exceed $500,000 or 80 percent of total project
				  costs, whichever is less; and
(v)
				  for which grant assistance for preliminary planning will generally not be less
				  than $25,000 or greater than $100,000 and shall generally not exceed 50 percent
				  of total project planning costs.
(26) Lending institution shall mean any
				  banking or insurance organization regulated by the State or any nationally
				  recognized financial or lending institution.
(27) Loan loss reserve fund shall mean a bank
				  account comprised of a deposit by the corporation, equal to a percentage of a
				  proposed loan, with equal deposits from the lender and borrower, which may be
				  used to offset losses on any loans made by that lender under the
				  program.
(28) Region means the
				  regions of the State established pursuant to section
				  230 of
				  the Economic Development Law.
(29)
				  Regional and industrial planning studies shall mean projects whose purpose is
				  to attract, stabilize, retain or revitalize existing businesses, and to assist
				  small and new businesses as described in section
				  4243.24 of this Part.
(30) Retail firm shall mean one which devotes
				  25 percent or more of its floor space or derives 25 percent or more of its
				  gross revenue from the sale of goods in small quantities to the ultimate
				  consumer for personal or household consumption or the rendering of personal
				  services to individuals.
(31)
				  Revolving loan fund shall mean an account for the purpose of an administering
				  corporation to make loans to small- and medium-sized businesses, and whose
				  funds shall revolve, insofar as repayment of principal and interest of
				  outstanding loans made from the account shall be directed to the
				  account.
(32) Small- and
				  medium-sized businesses shall mean any businesses in the State with no more
				  than 500 full-time employees.
(33)
				  Soft costs shall mean costs and expenses related to a program project,
				  including, without limiting the foregoing, legal services, appraisals,
				  brokerage commissions, interest charges, surveys, environmental assessments and
				  impact statements, design, architectural and engineering services and
				  relocation, but not including, costs and expenses relating to preparation of an
				  application for program assistance.
(34) Tourism destination project shall mean a
				  project that significantly contributes to the development of a recreational,
				  cultural or historic location or facility that is likely to attract a
				  significant number of visitors from outside the region in which such project is
				  located.
(35) Urban industrial
				  sites shall mean a site to be occupied for an industrial purpose and located in
				  an industrial, commercial or mixed-use area of a political subdivision of the
				  State.
(36) Viable business shall
				  mean a business which is profitable and competitive or which demonstrates the
				  capacity to become profitable and competitive and to develop as a successful
				  business within a reasonable period of time.