I wanted to share the following article with you from the Democrat & Chronicle:

Democrat & Chronicle: Warring sides praise photonics deal

Joseph Spector, @GannettAlbany 12:18 p.m. EDT September 17, 2015

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="344"] (Photo via governor's office)[/caption]

The dust has settled, and the dueling officials that battled over where to locate a $600 million photonics center said today that they are pleased with the deal brokered by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The fight pitted top Rochester and state officials against one another as the sparred over whether to put the headquarters: at the Sibley Building or nearby at the former Bausch & Lomb headquarters.

But the argument wasn't just about physical space: It was about control over the massive project that is expected to create thousands of jobs across the region.

So the sides say they are walking away with a reasonable compromise after weeks of behind-the-scenes negotiations in Albany and Rochester.

"The governor and I had spoken, and he immediately recognized that he was concerned that Rochester hadn’t had enough voice at the table, which is what I’ve been saying," Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Morelle, D-Irondequoit, Monroe County, said.

"Truthfully, the location of the headquarters I think we’ve been saying all along wasn’t really the issue," Morelle continued. "There were two issues for me: One was the degree to which we were going to have a partnership that was truly a partnership that included Rochester’s voice. And the second thing, the most important thing about the facilities, was where is the manufacturing going to occur."

Morelle and local officials are touting that the manufacturing work for the photonics effort will be done at the Eastman Business Park, the former sprawling home to Eastman Kodak Co. that has been a major focus of redevelopment efforts.

"Today’s announcement is confirmation of what we’ve known all along -- that nowhere on Earth is better equipped than Rochester to bring the science of photonics to life,” Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-Fairport, Monroe County, said.

But SUNY Polytechnic Institute, the Albany-based college headed by CEO Alain Kaloyeros, will also get much of what it wanted. The headquarters for the center will be at the former Bausch & Lomb building, now known as Legacy Tower, which was Kaloyeros' preference.

While some work will be done at the Sibley Building -- the headquarters sought by Morelle and University of Rochester president Joel Seligman -- the efforts will be spread out among many facilities.

Research will be still be done in part at SUNY Poly-owned facilities in Canandaigua and Canal Ponds in Greece. And the majority of a new, seven-member governing board will be controlled by Cuomo and Kaloyeros.

"All the pieces of the puzzle fit in nicely together," Kaloyeros said. "All the assets complement each other and will useful for the consortium. Honestly, Rochester should be very grateful to have Andrew Cuomo focused on it."