They are seen as vital engines for economic growth
By Stefan Yablonski
Operation Oswego County operates three industrial parks: the L. Michael Treadwell Oswego County Industrial Park off Route 481 in Schroeppel, the Lake Ontario Industrial Park in the city of Oswego and the Airport Industrial Park in Volney.
They serve as vital engines for economic growth and development within local communities.
By concentrating manufacturing and industrial activities within a designated area, cities and towns can better manage resources, isolate transportation impacts and promote innovation.
• The Lake Ontario Industrial Park consists of manufacturing land use and undeveloped land with intermittent shrub overgrowth. The adjacent land use consists of industrial manufacturing facilities and undeveloped land.
The 55-acre park is located along the southeastern shores of Lake Ontario within the city of Oswego, just three miles east of the Port of Oswego. It is home to Northland Filter International and the city of Oswego Department of Public Works (adjacent).
• The Airport Industrial Park property is marketed to companies that would have a competitive advantage by being located next to a regional airport, as well as to other businesses that fit into the surrounding area. The park with 170 available acres for development is located adjacent to the Oswego County Airport. It is home to Canfield Machine & Tool, National Grid, Giroux Aeronautical, D&S Landscaping and Constellation (Joint Information Center).
• The L. Michael Treadwell Oswego County Industrial Park was named after Operation Oswego County’s former executive director, L. Michael Treadwell. He joined OOC in 1983 and was executive director throughout his tenure. He retired on Dec. 31, 2022.
It’s currently home to about a dozen companies from the industrial, business and education sectors. With an additional 185 acres purchased adjacent to the park little more than a year ago for expansion, the industrial park is well poised for continued growth.
What is an industrial park?
The textbook definition of an industrial park is “an area of a town or city that is designed especially for factories or offices.”
Industrial parks can combine a mix of production, transportation and storage facilities in the same area.
They might include companies that provide manufacturing, transportation and storage facilities, such as chemical plants, airports and beverage manufacturers. Industrial parks can be useful in bringing companies together that provide services and features that are complementary to each other.
Industrial parks are usually located on the edges of, or outside, the main residential area of a city where transport modes coincide, including highways, railroads, airports and ports.
Another common feature is a water tower. It helps to hold enough water to meet the park’s demands and for firefighting purposes and also advertises the industrial park and locality; usually the community’s name and logo are painted onto its surface.
The idea of setting land aside through this type of zoning has several purposes:
• By concentrating dedicated infrastructure in a delimited area, to reduce the per-business cost of that infrastructure. Such infrastructure includes roadways, railroad sidings, ports, high-power electric supplies (often including three-phase electric power), high-end communications cables, large-volume water supplies and high-volume gas lines.
• To attract new business by providing an integrated infrastructure in one location.
• Eligibility of industrial parks for benefits.
• To set apart industrial uses from urban areas to try to reduce the environmental and social impact of the industrial uses.
• To provide for localized environmental controls specific to the needs of an industrial area.
Operation Oswego County is a private, nonprofit economic development organization that works to enhance and protect the business climate of Oswego County.
For more information, call 315-343-1545 or visit www.oswegocounty.org.
