Kodak's Eastman Business Park (EBP) welcomed its newest tenant Friday. But the park's director says Kodak's bankruptcy is giving pause to some prospective projects.
"I will be honest, some of the very big ones - the $200-, $300 million projects - they've slowed down a bit as they try and determine what perhaps Chapter 11 might mean," EBP Director Mike Alt said Friday. "But most of the other projects are moving forward."
That $300 million project - a biofuel plant headed by the U.S. Renewables Group - is the centerpiece of the Finger Lakes Regional Economic Development Council's strategic plan.
Still, Alt says EBP is slowly building a "critical mass" of up-and-coming tech firms. The former Kodak Park is home to more than 30 companies - ranging from tomato sauce to nanotechnology.
"We hope to add a number of new tenants this year," Alt told reporters.
As Kodak wades through Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the possibility of selling the business park - a sprawling industrial campus with its own power plant, sewer system and transportation infrastructure - has been floated.
Alt says that remains an option.
"At this point, we have no bona fide offers for it," Alt said. "Of course in Chapter 11, depending on what comes up, we'll certainly entertain any of those."
