Governor Andrew Cuomo came to Henrietta on Tuesday to announce that Paychex will be moving some operations from leased facilities around Monroe County to a new multi-building campus in Henrietta.
As part of the $58 million project, Paychex is expected to create 625 new full-time jobs over the next five years, adding over 100 each year.
When the project is finished, more than 2,000 of the 5,000 Rochester-based Paychex employees will work at the new campus.
Despite offers to leave, Paychex CEO Martin Mucci said the company is proud of it's Rochester roots, and it's ability to bring jobs to the area. He said the centralized location of the building drew them to the space.
"It is our hometown, and there's a great group of employees we can gain from here. First of all there's already a good size group here who are very talented. And we believe that there is a pool of talent that we continue to draw from in the Rochester/Monroe County area."
Paychex will be acquiring five parcels of property on Calkins Road and renovating more than 300,000 square feet of existing space at the site of the former Verizon Wireless call center.
Governor Andrew Cuomo said that this is the new economy, businesses are becoming more mobile leaving more vacant buildings behind.
"The old day we had factories, they were literally cemented into the foundation, they didn't move anywhere. Now you can pick up your laptop, get on a plane and go where ever you want to go."
Paychex will also retain the locations it currently owns in Brighton, Henrietta, Webster, Penfield and Rochester.
Empire State Development has offered up to $11.5 million through the Excelsior Jobs Program in exchange for job commitments and a Finger Lakes Forward Upstate Revitalization Grant of up to $2.5 million has been committed to the project.
Governor Andrew Cuomo hopes more business will take advantage of the Finger Lakes Forward grants.
"If you have a business thats interested in growing, let us know right away. If you have a business that you think might be a little unhappy and might be looking somewhere else, let us know right away."
While some employees have already made the move to the new space, renovations are expected to be complete by next fall.
