Rochester, N.Y. - Mayor Robert Duffy and PAETEC CEO Arunas Chesonis signed an agreement on Tuesday to bring the company's $55 million world headquarters to Midtown Plaza.
“For three and half years I've been asked-- do I believe this is going to happen. Yes, I believe it's going to happen,” said Duffy.
They likened the agreement to a contract to buy a house.
“I guess we did not sign in blood…it is binding,” said Duffy.
“This is, from our perspective, binding. This is signing a contract by us,” said Chesonis. “You don't back out of buying a house unless something really happens unforeseen.”
But the deal is not final. The agreement sets deadlines over the next six months to three years to obtain tax breaks, site approvals, construction contracts, tenants, and most importantly – financing.
“We've got enough banks that we've talked to in enough detail that they're giving us their handshake and we're moving forward now based on this signing to get the documentation for those mortgages,” said Chesonis, who said the company also had not secured tax credits or the $16.5 million federal loan required for the project. He said the agreement will help obtain those approvals. PAETEC is also relying on $9 million in city and state grants.
In June, CEO Arunas Chesonis put a deadline of the end of the year to finish negotiations, which started three years ago. Chesonis had said his Perinton based telecommunications firm may have to look at other locations if the deal wasn’t done.
The company's plans, announced in 2007, helped convince the state to pay $55 million to tear down the plaza. PAETEC is seen as the anchor of the redevelopment project. At least $69 million of public money has been invested in the site, and another $34.5 million will be needed to rebuild the 8-acre Midtown site’s infrastructure.
PAETEC had wanted free parking at Midtown, but agreed to pay the city a discounted rate for 20 years, starting at $30 per month per monthly pass.
A police substation would be located at the headquarters. The agreement also calls for moving bus stops away from the PAETEC building.
The company hopes to move into the new building by June 2013, bringing about workers downtown.
City officials say PAETEC’s commitment to build at Midtown Plaza will transform downtown forever.
“Downtown is an essential part of the success of this city,” said Deputy Mayor Tom Richards. “We can't have a city we can be proud of if we're embarrassed by downtown.”
PAETEC expects to arrange financing within five months.
“What could go wrong?” said Chesonis. “Um, yeah, no, I honestly don't think anything is going to go wrong now. I think at this point we're there.”
