Greene County Empire Zone 1,280 Acres in 4 Prime Industrial Areas
Greene County's Empire Zone encompasses four prime industrial areas totaling 1,280 acres in Catskill, Athens, Coxsackie and New Baltimore. Companies relocating or expanding in one of the Empire Zone areas can dramatically cut the cost of a proposed project and the cost of doing business. Certified, job-creating companies can operate virtually tax free for up to 10 years in an Empire Zone.
Greene County Planning and Economic Development works in close partnership with the Greene County Industrial Development Agency to deliver a single, coordinated benefits package to qualifying companies. The Greene County Zone Administrative Board, appointed by the Greene County Legislature, administers the program.
economic dev: ezones
Empire Zone Areas
Zone 1
Empire Zone Area 1
728 Acres • New Baltimore and Coxsackie
Encompasses three industrial parks on Route 9W, about 1⁄2 mile to Exit 21B off I-87:
- Greene Business & Technology Park – 200-acre, shovel-ready park; home of 332,000 SF Save-A-Lot Distribution Center
- Kalkberg Commerce Park – 146-acre, shovel-ready park; home of 225,000 SF Serta mattress manufacturing plant
- Future Retail Destination Park – (382 acres of prime land zoned for industrial development)
Empire Zone Area 1 PDF
GIS Map
Zone 2
Empire Zone Area 2
100 Acres • Town of Coxsackie
- Hudson Valley Commerce Park – Privately owned park; home of major regional facility of Brockway-Smith
- Home to DynaBil Industries
- Build Now-NY grant in place to complete development
Empire Zone Area 2 PDF
GIS Map
Zone 3
Empire Zone Area 3
167 Acres • Town of Athens
- Includes former Travco Industrial Park, including industrial buildings
- Vacant acreage north of former plant
- Home to Northeast Treaters, Inc. and a new facility of Peckham Materials Corp.
- Build Now-NY grant in place to complete development
Empire Zone Area 3 PDF
GIS Map
Zone 4
Empire Zone Area 4
265 Acres • Town and Village of Catskill
- Assemblage of privately owned properties with significant development potential
- Adjacent to Route 9W just south of Village of Catskill
- Municipal infrastructure
- Strategically positioned for downstate business
Empire Zone Area 4 PDF
GIS Map
Key Benefits
Qualified Empire Zone Enterprise Credits (QEZE)
These three QEZE credits are available to an EZ-certified company that has passed an initial "new business" test and passes an annual employment test which insures that the business exceeds the four-year average employment prior to certification:
- Sales Tax Exemption: This exemption is on the state portion of the sales tax (4%) and applies to all purchases of all personal tangible property and services directly used by an EZ-certified business.
- Tax Reduction Credit: A company can reduce its corporate franchise tax liability to zero by using this credit as it creates more jobs and/or makes additional investments.
- Real Property Tax Credit/Refund: Based on the number of jobs created and/or investments made, this credit can be obtained as a cash refund for unused credits up to the amount of real property taxes paid or as payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT payment).
Wage Tax Credit
The Wage Tax Credit provides a five-year credit of $1,500 to $3,000 for each newly created job in the EZ. Credits can be taken for as much as 50% of the business's state corporate franchise tax. Unused credits can be carried forward and a new business can request a refund of 50% of unused credits. New York businesses moving from within the state can get a credit for existing jobs moved into the zone, as long as the jobs were moved into the zone after the zone parcel was designated.
Investment Tax Credit (ITC)
The ITC offers a 10% credit for investment made by a corporation (8% for personal income taxpayers) in property and/or equipment within a zone. Property must be principally used for manufacturing, assembly, processing, R&D, or for the buying and selling of securities by financial institutions. Unused credits can be carried forward and a new business can request a refund of 50% of unused credits.
Employment Incentive Credit
A credit of an additional 9% of the investment cost can be taken over three years for companies that have increased employment to a level at least 101% of the average employment prior to when the investment was made.
Sales and Use Tax Refund
This can be used on the state portion of the sales tax (4%) for the purchase of building materials that become part of the real property in the zone.
Eligibility & Application
To participate in the Empire Zones Program, a business must first be located in an Empire Zone, or qualify as a regionally significant project, and become zone certified. To qualify for certification, a business must be able to demonstrate that it will create new jobs and/or make investments in the Empire Zone and be consistent with the local zone’s development plan, including a cost-benefit analysis.
Please contact the Greene County Zone Coordinator to discuss whether your business qualifies for zone certification. Applications approved by the Zone Administrative Board are then forwarded to New York State for review and approval by the State’s Departments of Economic Development (Empire State Development) and Labor. Once a business is certified it is eligible to claim tax credits, subject to requirements and performance-based formulas set in tax law.
Greene County Zone Coordinator:
Warren Hart, AICP, Director
Greene County Planning and Economic Development
(518) 719-3290
whart@discovergreene.com