The Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council received an $81.9 million award from the state. The Southern Tier was also named a “top performer” by the state, the second consecutive year that the Southern Tier earned among the top honors. The money given to the region on Wednesday will be used for a number of projects, including a private high-speed computer network from Tioga to Broome and Chemung Counties, along with tourism-related construction projects in Steuben County and a farm-to-bistro initiative in Tompkins County. The Southern Tier received recurring funding of $250,000 per year for three years, for a “regional business incubator”, a place where new high technology businesses could help be developed. In the Southern Tier, the incubator will be spread throughout the region, with Cornell University administering the program, which will also have locations at Binghamton University and the Ceramics Corridor Innovation Center in Painted Post. The Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council is one of ten councils across the state created by Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2011 to help create strategies for long-term economic growth.
