New tenant moves into Watertown Industrial Center
TIMES STAFF WRITER
A company that upgrades lights for National Grid has moved into the small business incubator facility at the Watertown Industrial Center, 800 Starbuck Ave.
Site manager William J. Soluri said that SmartWatt Electric Inc. moved into the middle of Building B on Monday.
The company will have a 12-month lease, with a year option, Mr. Soluri said. SmartWatt will pay $396.58 a month for the 700-square-foot space.
The company employs eight workers and has six vehicles.
The Watertown Industrial Center Local Development Corp. board also learned that 28,000 square feet of space at the back of Building B will soon be torn down. That section, a part of the original New York Air Brake plant, was never renovated, Mr. Soluri said, adding that the board had always hoped to find a tenant for that space to move in and restore it, but it never happened.
The $567,000 project will be completed by RSI Roofing, Gouverneur, and Independent Commercial Contractors Inc., Lorraine. Several years ago, 30,000 square feet of space was demolished.
The roofs for Building A and Building B also will be replaced at a cost of about $1.3 million.
Board members also discussed in executive session a proposed lease agreement extension for Jain Irrigation Inc. Afterward, the board agreed on a month-to-month extension for one year as center officials negotiate a longer agreement for 32,400 square feet of space. The company makes irrigation tubing.
The lease payment for Jain Irrigation will be $5,215.50 per month until a new agreement can be reached.
The board accepted the resignations of board members Kevin J. Jordan and Ellisburg Supervisor William H. Fulkerson. Mr. Jordan is leaving his position as project development director with the Development Authority of the North Country and has accepted a job as executive director of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Jefferson County, while Mr. Fulkerson is moving to Florida.
