1. (1) Administering corporation shall mean a local or regional organization or consortia of financial institutions that satisfactorily demonstrate their ability to administer flexible financing programs (as hereinafter defined).
2. (2) Capital access projects shall mean grants, loans and loan guarantees (i) to small and medium-sized businesses (as hereinafter defined), including minority- and women-owned enterprises, and (ii) to not-for-profit child care centers to facilitate access to bank funding in connection with the Federal Community Reinvestment Act (“CRA”).
3. (3) Commercial area development financing projects shall mean projects intended to improve commercial buildings, commercial-strips, downtown areas and business districts.
4. (4) Competitiveness improvement means any assistance provided to entities within the State by the corporation, including but not limited to, to improve the productivity, work force, market or financial position, to promote increased export trade, or overall competitiveness or to prevent the closing, partial closing or relocation outside the State of a manufacturing or non- retail service firm or a tourism facility.
5. (5) Corporation shall mean the New York State Urban Development Corporation doing business as Empire State Development Corporation.
6. (6) CRA enhancement fund shall mean funding provided to not-for-profit child care centers by an administering corporation if financing provided by private banking institutions to meet CRA (as defined in paragraph [2] of this subdivision) requirements, in addition to funds from other sources, do not fully cover the total project costs.
7. (7) Distressed area shall mean a substandard or insanitary area, wherein there exists a condition of substantial and persistent unemployment or underemployment or an area which is in danger of becoming a substandard or insanitary area.
8. (8) Economic development benefits means, but is not limited to, the creation or retention of permanent private sector jobs; and expansion of the State economy through improved productivity, market and financial positions, and overall competitiveness of the State's businesses.

9. (9) Economic development fund determinations shall mean the following:

   1. (i) that the proposed project would promote the economic health of the State by facilitating the creation or retention of jobs or would increase business activity within a political subdivision or region of the State;
   2. (ii) that the project would be unlikely to take place in the State without the requested assistance; and
   3. (iii) that the project is reasonably likely to accomplish its stated objectives and that the likely benefits of the project exceed costs.
10. (10) Economic development initiatives shall mean initiatives (as described in section 4243.24 of this Part) for the uses described in section 4243.25(b) of this Part and intended to create or retain jobs or prevent, reduce or eliminate unemployment or underemployment, or increase business activity in a distressed area.

11. (11) Eligible applicant means, as permitted under the Act:

    1. (i) a manufacturing or non-retail service firm or material handling facility or tourism facility; a business group or consortium or association or industry group or association, in each case which consists of or represents manufacturing or non-retail service firms or material handling facilities; a not-for-profit entity; a local development corporation; an industrial development agency; a public benefit corporation, a municipality, a local or regional economic development corporation or an educational entity/provider; and
    2. (ii) for the purpose of employee training assistance only, in addition to those entities specified in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, a private industry council, as defined by the Federal Job Training Partnership Act (P.L. 97-300), shall be an eligible applicant.
12. (12) Eligible business shall mean as permitted under the Act, an industrial, manufacturing, research and development, high technology, tourism, agricultural, non-retail service business or not-for-profit organization engaged in economic development.

13. (13) Eligible recipients for the purposes of:

    1. (i) Commercial area development financing shall include:

       1. (a) municipalities of the State;
       2. (b) local development corporations;
       3. (c) industrial development agencies; and
       4. (d) any business or group of businesses authorized to conduct business in the State.

    2. (ii) Federal and urban site financing shall include:

       1. (a) municipalities of the State;
       2. (b) industrial development agencies;
       3. (c) not-for-profit corporations of the State engaged in economic development; and
       4. (d) local and regional economic development corporations of the State.
    3. (iii) General development financing shall include any business authorized to conduct business in the State for the following purposes: manufacturing, non-retail service firms, headquarters facilities of firms engaged generally in retail industries, retail firms (as hereinafter defined) located in distressed areas and other businesses whose purpose is to develop recreational, cultural or historical facilities that are likely to attract significant numbers of visitors. Generally, any business shall have been in existence for at least three years.

    4. (iv) Infrastructure development financing shall include:

       1. (a) any eligible business authorized to conduct business in the State that, generally, has been in business for at least three years;
       2. (b) municipalities of the State;
       3. (c) industrial development agencies; and
       4. (d) regional and local economic development corporations.

    5. (v) Regional and industrial planning studies and economic development initiatives shall include:

       1. (a) municipalities of the State;
       2. (b) not-for-profit corporations of the State engaged in economic development; and
       3. (c) local and regional economic development organizations.
    6. (vi) Capital access projects shall include eligible administering corporations.
14. (14) Evaluation criteria shall mean the criteria set forth in section 4243.3 of this Part, and in other provisions of this Part regarding evaluation of a proposal for certain types of assistance, to be applied in evaluating a proposal for assistance.
15. (15) Export shall mean a good or service which is a product of an enterprise within the State, has no less that 50 percent content produced or value added within the State, and is shipped or provided outside the boundaries of the United States of America and its territories and possessions.
16. (16) Federal and urban site financing projects shall mean projects for the re-development of Federal facility sites (as hereinafter defined), urban industrial sites (as hereinafter defined), industrial parks (as hereinafter defined) and incubator buildings (as hereinafter defined) for the purpose of attracting, retaining or permitting the expansion of an eligible business in accordance with section 4243.13 of this Part and the other applicable provisions of this Part.
17. (17) Federal facility site shall mean any parcel or assembly of land formerly occupied by an entity of the Federal government of the United States of America.

18. (18) Flexible financing programs shall mean, without limitation:

    1. (i) loan loss reserve funds (as hereinafter defined);
    2. (ii) revolving loan funds (as hereinafter defined); and
    3. (iii) CRA enhancement funds.
19. (19) General development financing shall mean a project for an eligible recipient as set forth in section 4243.9 of this Part for one or more of the uses permitted under section 4243.10 of this Part.
20. (20) Incubator building shall mean a facility developed in order to provide affordable rent and shared support services to a number of new and small businesses.
21. (21) Industrial park shall mean a parcel or assembly of land, developed according to a comprehensive plan, to provide development sites and/or facilities for business and/or industrial uses.

22. (22) Ineligible costs - the following shall be ineligible uses for funding under the program:

    1. (i) refinancing of any existing debt provided that assistance in the form of permanent financing to replace construction financing for an otherwise eligible project shall be allowed;
    2. (ii) assistance to any agency of the State, except that assistance may be rendered for or in connection with improvements of real property owned by the corporation or the State or any agency, department, public authority or public benefit corporation of the State or any subsidiary of such a public benefit corporation where such assistance will benefit one or more eligible businesses located on such real property or in the community in which such real property is located;
    3. (iii) any residential purpose;
    4. (iv) payment of any tax or employee benefit arrearages; and
    5. (v) expenses incurred before submission of an application for program assistance or the written acceptance of a letter issued by the corporation as offering such assistance.

23. (23) Ineligible recipient - the following shall be ineligible for funding under the program:

    1. (i) overnight lodging facilities, except in the case of tourism destination projects (as hereinafter defined) that include such facilities and, in such cases the costs of such facilities may be included in calculating the total project costs;
    2. (ii) legal, medical or nursing services;
    3. (iii) educational services, except in the case of any training assistance;
    4. (iv) retail firms not located in distressed areas; and
    5. (v) casinos.
24. (24) Infrastructure development financing projects shall mean projects whose purpose is to attract, retain or permit the expansion of an eligible business as permitted under section 4243.20 of this Part.

25. (25) Infrastructure investment project shall mean a project as described in section 4243.20 of this Part:

    1. (i) consisting solely of site preparation, clearance and/or demolition on publicly-owned or leased land and may include the eligible uses set forth in section 4243.21(a)(1) and (2) of this Part for projects located in distressed areas and for which the corporation may provide grant assistance;
    2. (ii) with the applicant being a municipality, an industrial development agency or a local or regional economic development corporation;
    3. (iii) for which economic development fund determinations can be made and for which the evaluation criteria, as applicable, can be met;
    4. (iv) for which, except as provided in subparagraph (v) of this paragraph, grant assistance shall generally not exceed $500,000 or 80 percent of total project costs, whichever is less; and
    5. (v) for which grant assistance for preliminary planning will generally not be less than $25,000 or greater than $100,000 and shall generally not exceed 50 percent of total project planning costs.
26. (26) Lending institution shall mean any banking or insurance organization regulated by the State or any nationally recognized financial or lending institution.
27. (27) Loan loss reserve fund shall mean a bank account comprised of a deposit by the corporation, equal to a percentage of a proposed loan, with equal deposits from the lender and borrower, which may be used to offset losses on any loans made by that lender under the program.
28. (28) Region means the regions of the State established pursuant to section 230 of the Economic Development Law.
29. (29) Regional and industrial planning studies shall mean projects whose purpose is to attract, stabilize, retain or revitalize existing businesses, and to assist small and new businesses as described in section 4243.24 of this Part.
30. (30) Retail firm shall mean one which devotes 25 percent or more of its floor space or derives 25 percent or more of its gross revenue from the sale of goods in small quantities to the ultimate consumer for personal or household consumption or the rendering of personal services to individuals.
31. (31) Revolving loan fund shall mean an account for the purpose of an administering corporation to make loans to small- and medium-sized businesses, and whose funds shall revolve, insofar as repayment of principal and interest of outstanding loans made from the account shall be directed to the account.
32. (32) Small- and medium-sized businesses shall mean any businesses in the State with no more than 500 full-time employees.
33. (33) Soft costs shall mean costs and expenses related to a program project, including, without limiting the foregoing, legal services, appraisals, brokerage commissions, interest charges, surveys, environmental assessments and impact statements, design, architectural and engineering services and relocation, but not including, costs and expenses relating to preparation of an application for program assistance.
34. (34) Tourism destination project shall mean a project that significantly contributes to the development of a recreational, cultural or historic location or facility that is likely to attract a significant number of visitors from outside the region in which such project is located.
35. (35) Urban industrial sites shall mean a site to be occupied for an industrial purpose and located in an industrial, commercial or mixed-use area of a political subdivision of the State.
36. (36) Viable business shall mean a business which is profitable and competitive or which demonstrates the capacity to become profitable and competitive and to develop as a successful business within a reasonable period of time.

(a)