In response to last year’s scandal, the new leadership of the Orange County Industrial Development Agency has promised to restore public trust in the organization this year by enacting a number of reform policies.
IDA Chief Executive Officer Bill Fioravanti in an article in the Hudson Gateway Association of Realtor’s newspaper Real Estate In-Depth discussed the reforms already put in place and the agency’s commitment to promoting greater transparency in its operations. Fioravanti had served as the interim IDA Executive Director before being appointed to the permanent CEO post in the fall of last year.
“There was a time when this agency was more closed-off from its partners and from members of the public and I think you are going to see an immediate about face in that regard,” Fioravanti said.
Fioravanti had served since May 2018 as Orange County’s Director of Economic Development up until his permanent appointment as IDA CEO this past fall. Previously, the City of Newburgh resident was the Director of Business Attraction for the Orange County Partnership for more than four years. He also has served as the Associate Executive Director of the YMCA of Middletown and the executive director for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Orange and Sullivan Counties.
Among some of the reforms in the works at the IDA include putting all of its major contracts out to bid. He noted. “You will see us re-procure everything so that the public knows that there are no favors, there are no preferences or preferential treatment. Everything is on the up and up.” Fioravanti also promised greater transparency when it comes to its consideration of incentives for worthwhile development projects.
Fioravanti also said that going forward the IDA will work with other economic development and business organizations to attract new investment in Orange County.
“This Board is clear that they are pro-business. They want to incentivize good projects that are deserving and we want to do it the right way. We want them to be good partners that will be accountable and will do what they commit to be doing in terms of job creation and the other guidelines.”
The IDA is also starting to now see an increase in interest by investors in the Orange County marketplace, saying he was “excited to say that (investor) interest has started to ramp up for sure.”
He added, “Again, we are going to work with the Orange County Partnership and our other partners, including Empire State Development, to help develop new opportunities. Orange County is always very competitive, we are in the game on a lot of great projects and I expect that to continue to be the same going forward.”
Fioravanti said that the IDA hopes to duplicate successful projects such as its involvement in the redevelopment of a former prison site in Warwick into a thriving commercial center. The IDA was recently reimbursed a total of $2.5 million of its $3-million in financing of the Warwick Valley Office and Technology Corporate Park. The IDA’s net investment of $500,000 has transformed the property into a cutting-edge commercial hub and a venue for the county’s growing cannabis industry that has produced revenue and hundreds of new jobs for the town and the county. For the full Real Estate In-Depth story, go to:
https://www.realestateindepth.com/news/a-conversation-with-orange-county-ida-executive-director-bill-fioravanti/
