After touting Westchester County's "intellectual capital" as attractive to businesses, state and local leaders welcomed a biotech company Monday to its new state-of-the art home in Ardsley ? and the hundreds of jobs that come along with it.
Acorda Therapeutics, a company that develops and markets therapies for neurological disorders, such as multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injuries, announced that it's leasing space at Ardsley Park campus on Saw Mill River Road.
"It's not just hope and a dream ? and it's becoming a reality real fast," County Executive Rob Astorino said of efforts to recruit and retain companies, particularly those in biotech.
"They need resources, capital and people and we've got all of it," he said.
The deal was made with the help of $1.1 million in sales tax abatements from the county Industrial Development Agency, as well as $5.2 million in job-creating incentives from the New York's Empire State Development Corp.
Astorino said attracting and keeping companies is "critical to the economic health" of Westchester, especially when they can go elsewhere.
Having two large biotech firms here shows that the county's workforce is "highly skilled and motivated," he said.
Acorda, which has been based in Hawthorne since 1998 and employs 159 people, had to move because it was growing: It is expected to add another 190 jobs over the next five years, according to the company.
The average salary is these jobs is $120,000, said Astorino.
Acorda's president and chief executive officer, Ron Cohen, said Ardsley Park will provide state-of-the-art laboratory and office space to accommodate the growth.
As part of the deal, BioMed Realty Trust Inc. of San Diego is paying $18 million for the Ardsley Park campus and then leasing 138,000 square feet to Acorda for 15 years.
BioMed, a real estate investment trust, is acquiring another 500,000 square feet for future development and expects to invest roughly $36 million in the site.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the companies decision "to expand its footprint in Westchester County sends another signal that New York is open for business."
"This investment will strengthen New York's vibrant biotech industry and create new jobs in the Lower Hudson Valley," he said in a statement.
"This is a sign of good things to come for our state as we work to revitalize New York's economy," Cuomo said.
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