In 2005 George W. Bush was president, Dan Stewart was mayor of Plattsburgh, Andy Abdullah was the Town Supervisor, and Strictly Business was celebrating its 15th anniversary.
An article in the March issue of SB featured Adore Kurtz, president of The Development Corp, now known as TDC. The economic development agency, created in 1961, was in a growth mode and Kurtz was leading the way. In the early 2000s, it had expanded from its original location in and around Plattsburgh. A purchase of 200 acres along the Northern Tier of Clinton County allowed it to develop the Champlain Industrial Park, construct seven buildings totaling 360,000 square feet of available space, and attract ten companies.
Asked what she considered the greatest impact the ambitious project had on the area, Kurtz offered, “It has encouraged the community to have high expectations about the kinds of jobs we attract. We can be selective about the companies we recruit. The way we do it is by enhancing our location with attractive buildings that compare favorably with other parts of the country. When our local quality of life and the solid preparation of our workforce are factored in, our story is a strong one.”
Now, 20 years later, the goal of the TDC remains essentially the same — new clients, new jobs, new buildings. And now we introduce you to its newest president – Danielle King.
More Than a Landlord
By Rachel Dutil • Photos by Jessica McCafferty & Supplied
Danielle King, the new president and CEO of TDC, holds the keys to more than 700,000-square-feet of industrial space in Clinton County, New York. TDC, initially known as New Industries of Clinton County, originated in 1961 when a group of North Country business people recognized the potential that Canadian businesses offered for the region. At first, the idea was to put up buildings and market them for sale, but it was soon apparent that most Canadian businesses wanted a “lower risk first step into the US market,” King explained. TDC’s model then transitioned to a lease format.
TDC oversaw the construction of its first building on Military Turnpike in 1973 and the agency has been in a growth mode ever since. Today TDC has 19 buildings spread over industrial parks on Industrial Boulevard, Area Development Drive, Military Turnpike, and the Banker Road in the Town of Plattsburgh. A new 60,000-square-foot Medisca building recently came on line in the Banker Road Park. TDC also has an Industrial Park in Champlain. “It’s a great inventory and our buildings — even though most of them have been around for decades – have undergone aggressive renovation. We are working continuously to make sure that the buildings are standing up to that premier industrial brand we hold,” King explained.
TDC is a standalone, private 501c6 nonprofit governed by a Board of Directors featuring business leaders from across Clinton County. Since its inception, the primary mission of the organization has been attracting and retaining businesses and creating jobs in the North Country. “We are able to do that because of our premier inventory of buildings and also because of the data on the local workforce we can provide,” King said. “Leasing space is our bread and butter. What gives us an edge in attracting companies is not just because this is a great area, but because we can offer a company a space to put their operation and the people to staff it.”
King, the seventh president to head the TDC in its 60-year history, took the helm in January after David Champagne’s retirement. “TDC has been such a force in this industry for so many years and to be the steward of our mission is really exciting,” she emphasized. “I am honored to carry the torch of this respected and impactful economic development organization.”
Workforce Development
King came into economic development by accident. She studied public relations at SUNY Plattsburgh and intended to become a wedding planner. While interning for the City of Plattsburgh in her final semester, she learned of an open position at the North Country Chamber of Commerce. She didn’t get the original job, but was offered a part-time receptionist position. She took it and after a few months, a full-time assistant position opened working with the Chamber’s Vice President of Economic Development, Sue Matton. “At that time, I had no idea what economic development was,” King admitted, but she took the job. “Working with Sue really gave me the bug for how much impact the North Country economic development partners have. There are so many people that work well together with a common goal, and they make things happen.”
King went back to school and earned a Master’s degree in economic development from SUNY Empire. Her program also had a workforce development certificate built in.
In 2019, she took a position as business development manager at TDC. “I had never touched the real estate side of economic development, so there was a bit of a learning curve,” she admitted. She continued her education and, by 2022, had earned the designation of Certified Economic Developer from the International Economic Development Council.
Working with the experienced and supportive TDC team, King recognized quickly that she had found her niche. She praised Champagne for his support and guidance in her early years at the agency and for giving her the freedom to allocate resources to workforce development. “I like the data behind it, working with the schools and pulling it all together.”
Each spring, TDC partners with CFES Brilliant Pathways to organize a manufacturing experience field trip for 10th graders. “I remember the first year we did this, we had a group of students from Ellenburg and we were at Michelin. They started their tour with a presentation in their conference room,” King recalled. “They showed marketing videos of snowmobiles on Chazy and Chateaugay Lakes and you could see the kids looking at each other and thinking, ‘That’s where I drive my sled.’ It just clicked in their brains that things that are made here are used everywhere. Those events draw connections in real time. It’s fun to see,” she said.
King emphasized the importance of thinking creatively. “We want to make sure that we’re looking at economic development from every side of the puzzle. We want employees, but unemployment is low. We’re not going to create more people, so how can we access the people that aren’t actively participating in the workforce? It’s childcare. It’s transportation. It’s housing issues,” she said. “We want to make sure that we are present and really trying to make an impact on each one of those areas.” King noted that she would love to be able to transition an underutilized industrial building into a childcare center. “I’m really excited about seeing how we can creatively participate in these different areas and make an impact.”
We’re More Than a Landlord
“The North Country is a really great place to do what I do,” King said. The term “proximity” is used frequently in TDC marketing, she explained. The region’s proximity to Canada, to the supply chain, to higher education, and to a knowledgeable business community are some key factors that make Clinton County attractive to businesses in ways other parts of the country aren’t. “With the Route 15 to I-87 corridor means Canadian businesses can be less than a day’s drive to a high percentage of the U.S. population.
Geographically, we’re in a great position to offer companies that first step into the U.S. market,” King said. “We also offer a proximity to a business community that knows how to work with Quebec companies. Area business service providers have been interacting with Canadians for decades. Local attorneys, accountants and bankers have a well-rounded understanding of the nuances of doing business from Canada to the US. We work closely with everyone who plays in that game of helping companies get here and understand what they qualify for and how they can start up.”
In addition to it recruitment efforts, TDC focuses on retention by scheduling in-person meetings with each of its tenants annually to assess how things are going and fill out surveys about the number of employees, business growth, projects they hope to complete, and if they have open positions they are having difficulty filling. This helps strengthen the relationship between TDC and its clients.
“We try to be more than a landlord, so if a tenant has a project they’re working on, they have us as a resource. We have economic data software about wage ranges and how many folks are available with the skills for the kinds of jobs businesses are looking to fill,” King said. “We don’t just collect a rent check. That’s not us.”
TDC
109 Industrial Boulevard
Plattsburgh, NY 12901
518 563-3100
888 699-6757
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