A rendering of the Nexus Center sports complex
The Mohawk Valley’s also gearing up for a projected 322,560 annual visitors who will spend more than $26 million a year in the region—that’s because downtown Utica’s the future home of the $44 million Nexus Center, a tournament-based sports complex that will be a Northeast hub for teams coming from around the U.S. and Canada. The world-class, 169,440-square foot facility will have ice that is easily transformed for use in field sports and will be used for ice hockey, soccer, box lacrosse and other field sports. While estimates call for 24 hockey and 24 lacrosse tournaments each year, the facility, which is receiving $22 million Upstate Revitalization grant funding, will also be available to the community for year-round use by local athletes and schools.
Utica’s also home to Your Bargain Grocer, a new state-of-the-art downtown grocery store. The $3.5 million Compassion Coalition facility features a commercial kitchen and ready-to-eat meals for customers. The store, which offers discounted retail prices by working with vendors to buy overages of food and vegetables, will work to promote food accessibility and equality, using the profits on programs that will have regional impact. Compassion Coalition works with the Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees, which helps newcomers to the area find jobs, and with Working Solutions “Second Chance” program, which helps people with a criminal record find work. The 12,000-square-foot facility, which is 10 times the size of Compassion Coalition’s original location, is supported by a $600,000, performance-based ESD Capital Grant.
These recent developments are all happening across a backdrop of growth in the region, which has experienced an upswing across several indicators that are encouraging signs for the Mohawk Valley’s long-term economic development and success. The region’s young adult population, ages 25-39, has grown – up five percent overall since 2012. The number of STEM degrees completed in the region is also on the rise, up 35 percent since 2013. Employment is expected to increase six percent by 2028.
