By JAMES FINK
Business First

To the average person, a long-abandoned factory may be an eyesore.

But to economic-development leaders, that same factory may represent an opportunity.

Now, the state's economic-development community has a new set of incentives to offer when it comes to bringing old industrial sites back to life. Gov. David Paterson, flanked by a small army of state and local leaders, used downtown Buffalo's Niagara Square as a backdrop to unveil a new series of brownfield reform legislation that many feel will serve as a major perk for redeveloping long-fallow properties.

"Now we'll have workable sites," Paterson said. "These are sites that can re-engage the economy."

Brownfields are former industrial or commercial sites that have varying forms of contamination and need public-sector incentives to make them development-ready. Virtually all of the abandoned industrial sites in the City of Buffalo qualify for brownfield-redevelopment assistance, and more than half of the abandoned commercial properties in New York City also qualify.

The setting for Wednesday's announcement was a few blocks from the state's poster child for brownfield redevelopment - the $110 million HealthNow New York headquarters, constructed on a long-vacant industrial site. The project was aided by $28 million in brownfield-redevelopment funds from New York state.

"It never would have happened without the brownfield incentives," said Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown.

The new incentive program has been championed by public- and private-sector groups, including the Unshackle Upstate initiative led by the Buffalo Niagara Partnership.

"This is really a win-win situation," said Andrew Rudnick, BNP president and CEO. "It cleans up sites and helps create private-sector investment."

Buffalo has several economic-development projects in the works that hinge on securing the incentives offered in the new brownfield legislation. The legislation calls for varying degrees of public-sector assistance in the redevelopment of any brownfield site.

The incentives will be jointly administered and monitored by Empire State Development Corp. and the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

"If we don't clean up brownfields, we're in trouble," said David Hahn-Baker of the Western New York Environmental Justice Center. "Brownfields are the key to our community."