To create jobs and support economic growth, Cornell has been awarded funding for three projects in Ithaca and New York City.

N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the awards Dec. 19 as part of the state's Regional Economic Development Councils initiative. The Southern Tier, where Cornell is located, was one of the high-performing regions with an award of $91.1 million to implement its regional economic development strategy.

On the Ithaca campus, a $500,000 grant will help renovate Stocking Hall to expand the Department of Food Science's Food Processing and Development Laboratory by establishing a small-scale production area that can transform raw materials into commercial products such as yogurt, beverages and cheese. Also on campus, a $350,000 grant will fund construction of a research greenhouse that will focus on development of new varieties of fruits and vegetables suitable for production in New York state.

On the Cornell Tech campus in New York City, $870,030 will be used to design a 150,000-square-foot LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum "net-zero energy" building -- which will harvest as much energy from the site as it consumes -- on Roosevelt Island.

The grants were part of $738 million granted through round two of the Regional Economic Development Councils initiative.

A centerpiece of the governor's strategy to jumpstart the economy and create jobs, the regional councils were put in place in 2011 to redesign the state's approach to economic development from a top-down model to a community-based, performance-driven approach. The initiative empowers community, business and academic leaders, as well as members of the public in each region of the state, to develop strategic plans specifically tailored to their region's unique strengths and resources to create jobs and support economic growth.