SYRACUSE, NY - The doors to the former GM Plant in Syracuse are open again. While General Motors is not resuming production in Upstate New York, the facility has been reborn as a mammoth industrial park.

Salina Industrial Powerpark boasts more than 800,000 sq. ft. of unique manufacturing space - prepped and ready for a new diverse manufacturing community to spring to life. This facility and its infrastructure are ideal for any type of light, medium or heavy manufacturing. Three tenants are already in place. In the near future as many as ten to 15 different companies could be operating under one roof.

"Salina Industrial Powerpark is living proof that the business climate in Upstate New York has changed," says Governor George Pataki. "Much has changed in the past five years. Taxes have been cut, red tape reduced, and energy costs addressed. For the first time in a decade, Central New York's economy is not only keeping pace, but growing at a faster rate, than the average in the rest of the country. Salina Industrial Powerpark is a sign of the new economic times in Upstate New York."

"This is a unique facility that is not only a valuable economic development asset but a fantastic opportunity for the entire region," says Doug Barclay, president of the Metropolitan Development Association (MDA). "General Motors should be commended for reinvesting in Central New York."

"At GM, we strive to put our former manufacturing sites back to productive use," says Conrad P. Schwartz, Director of Asset Management. "It gives us great pleasure to reopen the doors of this facility and renew our partnership with the people of Central New York."

General Motors discontinued operations at the Inland Fisher Guide Plant in 1993. Over the past 12 months, GM has worked closely with Pyramid Brokerage Company, the MDA, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to create and implement the redevelopment plan.

(May 18, 2000)