In addition, Lafarge North America Inc. went before the agency seeking assistance on a possible $79-million expansion and upgrade of its existing gypsum drywall manufacturing complex. It is located at 350 Broadway in Buchanan.

The Westchester County IDA granted both firms preliminary inducement approvals and both companies noted that final decisions on their respective projects have yet to be made. In the case of the Synapse Group, the company is considering several locations in Westchester County as well as some sites in Connecticut for its corporate headquarters, which is currently housed in approximately 60,000 sf of space at 4 and 5 High Ridge Park in Stamford.

Jonathan A. Siegel, executive vice president and general counsel for Synapse Group, said the company hopes to make a final decision on its corporate headquarters requirement by December so that tenant work can begin in April. The company hopes to take occupancy of its new headquarters space by December 2005 or January 2006. Siegel said that there is a possibility that it could remain at the High Ridge Park complex.

Synapse is currently on the market for as much as 80,000 sf of space. The firm has hired Cushman & Wakefield as its brokerage firm. Neither the county nor representatives of the Synapse would reveal the sites the company is considering. Synapse is seeking to secure a straight lease agreement and has requested approximately $500,000 in sales tax exemptions from the Westchester County IDA.

Also at the IDA special meeting, Joseph Carlucci, a local attorney representing Lafarge North America, said the firm is looking to expand and upgrade its existing 188,730-sf gypsum drywall production facility in Buchanan to 298,800 sf. Carlucci also represented the Synapse Group before the board.

The Lafarge North America project is estimated to cost more than $79 million. The firm, which is headquartered in Herndon, VA, is requesting the IDA back the project with Industrial Development Revenue Bonds, which could reap the firm approximately $19.6 million in real estate, sales and mortgage tax benefits along with interest savings, according to documents filed with the IDA.

Gary Molchan, director of environmental safety and loss control for Lafarge North America, said the company would either expand its facility in Buchanan or opt to upgrade and expand its existing drywall production plant in Newark, NJ at the Port of Newark complex. He estimated that the project in New Jersey would cost approximately $68 million to complete. Molchan also noted that the firm expects to receive an incentive offer from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the operator of the Port of Newark complex, in the near future.

Lafarge North America will be making a decision on which site it plans to upgrade at a company board of directors meeting in November. Molchan said that a decision to expand/upgrade one plant does not necessarily mean the closure of the other.

Salvatore Carrera, director of the Westchester County Office of Economic Development, said that both deals could prove to be "significant transactions" for the county. In the case of the Synapse Group, the firm would bring 300 jobs to Westchester if it decides to relocate and lease space in the county. The expansion and upgrade of the Lafarge North America facility would involve the retention of 97 manufacturing jobs at the Buchanan plant.

Louis C. Kirven III, Esq., director of business development--Westchester County for the Empire State Development Corp., said the state offered some incentives to both firms as well if they decide to undertake their respective projects in Westchester County.

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